Midnight Flights and Midnight Follies
by swampqueen512
Summary: The summer after his 5th year a depressed Harry Potter stumbles across a wounded owl and nurtures it back to health. When its owner, none other than the slytherin Ice Queen Daphne Greengrass, shows up to claim it dangerous secrets are revealed and Harry must use his new powers and allies to defeat Lord Voldemort once and for all, but it's not so easy when everyone is against you...
1. Midnight Journey

A/N: Alright folks, this is my first fanfic so go easy on me. It'll be a Harry Potter + Daphne Greengrass pairing, with maybe some Luna or Susan + Neville later on. Warning, there will be Dumbledore bashing and Weasley bashing, along with some others. I try to keep each chapter around 5,000 words and uploaded the first 4 all in one go so you have something to start with. I'm thinking the total story will end up with around 150,000 words. Updates will be every Sunday. Warning: **lots of cliches** , but I wrote it that way on purpose. Thanks, and enjoy!

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Chapter One: Midnight Journey

Harry James Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, savior of the wizarding world, survivor of the killing curse, leader of Dumbledore's army, and wizard extraordinaire woke up in the smallest bedroom of number 4 Privet Drive on a Tuesday morning in serious pain. His head pounded, his back ached, and his chest sent shooting pains through him with every inhalation. He was almost positive he had at least one broken rib, maybe two, and possibly a concussion.

That wasn't the worst of the pain, though. Physical pain was fine, he had been dealing with it ever since he could remember. The days of being held by loving parents were long gone and all he had known since was the brutality of life that was living with his muggle relatives. No, the real pain was purely emotional. Sirius Black, the only man who had ever treated Harry like a loving relative, the only one who gave hope of a happy, pain-free future, was dead. Gone. Never to return. And it was all his fault.

If only he had worked harder at his occlumency, had known that the vision Voldemort had sent was fake, had listened to Hermione when she tried to prevent him from leaving, had worked harder at school so he could protect his friends, had stayed closer to Sirius, or had known about the bloody prophecy beforehand, Sirius might still be alive. They could finally be a happy family. They could be together again. If only.

Harry angrily sat up, hissing in pain. It was all his fault. Cedric, Sirius, all those that had been killed by a resurrected Voldemort. All his fault, and the worst part was, there was nothing he could do about it. They were dead, gone, and never coming back, and he couldn't even help anyone else at the moment because he was stuck in the "safety" of Privet drive at Dumbledore's orders.

Harry gave a humorless laugh. Safe hardly described the environment he lived in, and ever since the order had threatened Vernon Dursley at Kings Crossing a week before, life had been one constant string of chores and beatings, not necessarily in that order.

And why was he stuck here instead of safely tucked away at Hogwarts or the Burrow, laughing with his friends and eating all the food he could manage? Two reasons, really. The first was the blood wards, supposedly erected through his mother's sacrifice and love. As long as he stayed at Privet drive the wards would keep out any death eaters and even Voldemort himself, though Harry wasn't so sure.

After doing some thinking, (after all, he had plenty of time to do that), he had realized that Voldemort now had Harry's blood running through his veins. If the wards that kept him "safe" were based on his blood, would they still keep out Voldemort if he had the same blood? He certainly hoped so. The events at the department of mysteries had showed him just how unprepared he was, and this was after spending all year training. Of course, if Voldemort did show up maybe this whole thing could finally be over and one could kill the other.

 _Neither can lives while the other survives._ That line, and the other lines of the prophecy, had been running through his muddled brain constantly ever since Dumbledore had told it to him, just hours after Sirius had died.

 _Dumbledore_. The name once spoken with respect and awe now held a tinge of bitterness and anger. _He knew. He knew the whole time. And he kept it from me._ Anger was the only emotion that made it through the fog of depression that coated his mind. _How dare he?! What gives him the right to keep controlling my life, to keep my almost certain death a secret? I thought he was on my side, the great Albus Dumbledore, defeater of Grindlewald, supreme Mugwump, and all those other bloody titles, protecting little helpless Harry Potter, the bloody Boy-Who-Lived._

Harry snorted, ignoring the pain in his chest the movement caused. _Some life I've been living._ And when he'd asked why the prophecy had been kept from his, Dumbledore had had the gall to say it had been for his own good, to give him a normal childhood. Harry may not know a lot about a normal family, but he was pretty sure that living in a cupboard and being starved and beaten wasn't a "normal childhood". But did that matter to Dumbledore? No, nothing Harry said ever did.

Banging on his door pulled Harry out of his morose thoughts and back to the depressing reality that was his life. "Get up boy! Vernon will be out of the shower in ten minutes. Breakfast had better be ready by then!"

"Yes Aunt Petunia," Harry said obediently. When he was younger he had tried being brave and defiant, telling his relatives what he thought of them and their treatment. He had quickly learned that that just led to even poorer treatment and worse beatings. Ever since then he had learned to keep his head down and do as he was told. It was the safest choice.

Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, Harry clutched at the mattress and gently pushed himself upright. For a few moments the room swirled and spun in a nauseating pattern and his stomach threatened to reject the meager meal he'd snatched from the kitchen two days before. He took several deep breaths, focusing on the movement of the stale air. In through his nose and out through his mouth. In the nose, out the mouth. In. Out. In. Out. Slowly the world returned to some semblance of order and he was able to walk gingerly out the door and down the stairs. Putting on a rasher of bacon and scrambling some eggs, Harry focused on the view out the window, the flowers in the garden, anything but the undeniable hunger emanating from his body.

Thuds on the stairs signified the arrival of one of the two great whales that lived there. Sure enough, Vernon Dursley came waltzing through the door not seconds later, eyes eagerly examining the kitchen, hoping to find anything out of order that would reflect poorly on "the boy".

Sadly, he found nothing, and simply grunted and sat at the table, opening the paper and completely ignoring his nephew. A few minutes, four slices of toast, five eggs, and 9 slices of bacon later Aunt Petunia walked in the room closely followed by the other resident whale, Dudley Dursley, who immediately fell on the food and practically inhaled it all. Petunia stood nearby, making sure her ickle Duddikins had everything he needed.

Seeing them all together like this, Harry wondered for the millionth time how anyone as horrid as these people could be related to him. They didn't even look alike. Petunia strongly resembled a horse with plain brown hair and eyes, nothing like the beautiful young redhead that had been his mother. As for Dudley, he looked just like his father, from the sandy blonde hair to the size, almost as wide as he was tall. The only visible difference was the youngness of his face and the lack of a large hairy mustache that Harry was sure had been stolen from some poor squirrel and glued onto his uncle's face with super glue.

The kindness of his mother, as several sources had described to Harry, was completely opposite the cruelty of the Dursleys. The laughing face of his father nothing like the serious, pudgy look on Vernon's face, hardly visible through the squirrel tail on his lip. No, he couldn't understand how he was related to people like this at all.

What seemed like an eternity later Vernon had left for work, Dudley for school, and Petunia for bridge club, and Harry was finally left alone. Glancing at the obscenely long list of chores that had been left for him, Harry decided they could wait and instead took the opportunity to take a hot shower, which he was not permitted to take when the Dursleys were home.

Stripping off his shirt Harry winced as scabs were ripped off and cuts were reopened. Glancing in the mirror he grimaced. A colorful collection of bruises adorned his chest were Dudley had hit him the other day for 'looking at his superiors'. The fact that his friends had gleefully joined in didn't make things much better. He was pretty sure it was Piers' boot that had given him the concussion and left a bright green bruise just to the left of his famous lightning-shaped scar.

Turning, Harry winced as he took in the blood smeared flesh that was his back. He had been preparing dinner last night, steak and potatoes, when Dudley had walked by and elbowed him in his chest, right on his broken rib. Reflexively Harry's hands flew to his chest, dropping the bowl of mashed potatoes as a result. The potatoes hit the floor and splattered everywhere, including right into Uncle Vernon's stolen mustache.

His uncle had gone nuts, screaming about how Harry was trying to starve his family and how the good for nothing freak had no respect for the people that had took him in and fed and clothed him. Unable to stop the comment before it left his lips, Harry had muttered "what food? What clothes?" Needless to say his uncle hadn't taken that too well and had herded Harry upstairs for his punishment- 50 lashes with his belt. By the time he'd finished Harry was unconscious and covered in blood. At some point in the night he had awoken and dragged himself onto the bed, but that was about it.

Shaking his head despairingly he stepped into the shower, hissing as the jets of water massaged his sore flesh. Still, Harry had learned from an early age that even if it hurt, cuts needed to be cleaned ASAP so as to ward off infection. Once when he was seven he had been left in the cupboard for two days after a belting and the wounds had become severely infected. His aunt had found him, screamed about him being a disgrace, and then forced him to drink some disgusting liquid that he assumed was medicine so that the neighbors wouldn't talk. Ever since he had been diligent about cleaning the cuts and his aunt tended to look the other way when he did so.

Ten minutes later he was clean and dressed in some of Dudley's hammy downs, which were several sizes too big and peppered with holes but still 'good enough for a freak like him', as his aunt had told him. Heading down to the kitchen he scarfed down his breakfast, half a piece of toast and half of a very brown banana, and got to work on his chores.

Hoping to avoid the worst of the summer heat he started in the garden, weeding the flower beds and mulching, and then moved on to mowing the lawn. After taking a quick water break, which he got from the hose out back, he moved on to cleaning the garage and then applying a fresh coat of paint to the already perfect shutters.

He had just finished washing the floors inside when his cousin arrived home and tracked mud all throughout the house. At that point his aunt arrived back from him outing and gave him a firm cuff on the ear for making a mess. After he rewashed the floors he was sent to his room without supper.

He had just sat down when he heard a car in the drive and his uncle walk in, crowing about a successful deal he'd made at work. "I'm taking the whole family out to dinner to celebrate! We'll eat at the nicest place we know, how's that sound my boy?"

My boy. Amazing how different the words sounded when spoken warmly, with love, instead of as an insult. Harry briefly wondered what his parents would have called him had they lived. Baby? Honey? Maybe even my boy? Dudley making an affirmative noise shook Harry out of those thoughts. _Man I must be tired. That's twice in one day I've zoned out like that._ Deciding he should go to bed early, he waited until the herd of stampeding elephants, or at least that what it sounded like, had left and then slowly drifted off to sleep.

Harry was awakened by a loud noise at the window. Rolling over, Harry first noticed that it was dark and quickly calculated that he must have slept for at least five hours, not waking at the Dursley's return. The second thing he noticed was a frantic Hedwig, who was pecking at the window and screeching like a banshee.

Worried, both about his familiar and about his uncle hearing the noise, he jumped out of bed, ignoring the pain, and rushed to open the window. Instead of quietly flying to her perch like she usually did, though, she started fluttering around Harry's head, squawking loudly.

"Quiet Hedwig! You'll wake uncle Vernon!" Her only response was to screech even louder. "Shh, Hedwig! What is it? What's wrong?" She hooks her talons into his shoulder, firmly but not painfully, and pulled him towards the window. He obediently followed, hoping if he did as she wanted she would quiet down.

Once they reached the window Hedwig launched herself into the air and flew out, going about ten feet before circling back, landing on his shoulder, and tugging again. "You want me to follow you girl?" She bobbed her head frantically and took flight again, once more returning to his shoulder after a few feet. "I can't, Hedwig! The Dursleys will kill me if they see!"

She screeched even louder yet and pecked him none too gently on the head. "Ow! Alright, alright, I'm going! I'm going!" He quickly walked to the door and put his ear to it. Hedwig quieted immediately, allowing him to hear three sets of snores.

Cautiously opening the door Harry crept out and lightly walked down the stairs, avoiding all the creaky places. Double checking the alarm wasn't set he quietly snuck out the front door, shutting it softly behind him. As soon as he stepped out into the moonlight Hedwig swooped low in front of him and then took off down the road, towards the park.

Harry followed at a fast walk that soon become a jog as Hedwig became more violent with her urgings for him to keep up. An hour later, just as Harry thought he would collapse, Hedwig banked into a small forest that bordered the suburb of Little Whinging and slowed, waiting for Harry to catch up. Breathing heavily, and rather painfully, Harry fell to his knees and sat there, gasping for air.

After about five minutes he was able to get back to his feet. Hedwig looked him over, bobbed her head once in approval, and then slowly headed into the trees. Harry hesitantly followed, trying not to jump at the shadows or noises of the night. It was so dark there that all he could see of Hedwig was her iridescent amber eyes. After about fifteen minutes of a gentle walk she suddenly gave a little chirp and landed next to a lump of wood.

Walking warily forwards Harry knelt behind the wood and gently touched it. It was soft to the touch, and slightly warm. Confused, Harry knelt closer, trying to make out its form. When his face was about three inches away two startlingly bright yellow orbs appeared.

"Ahh!" Harry fell backwards and let out an "oomph" as the air left his lungs. Hedwig chirped disapprovingly and swatted Harry on the ear with her wing. "Sorry girl, just wasn't expecting that."

Sitting back up, Harry returned his gaze to the form on the forest floor. The two yellow orbs were still there and upon closer inspection proved to be eyes. Suddenly things clicked in his head and Harry realized that what he thought was a lump of wood was actually an owl, and judging by its position it was probably injured.

Scooting closer Harry gently ran its hands over the animal, hoping it wouldn't attack him. Yellow eyes watched him warily but made no move to stop him until he reached the right wing. A sudden chirp and a peck that drew blood alerted Harry to a broken wing. "Poor thing, is your wing broken," he asked in a soothing voice. "That must have been frightening, being hurt and all alone and knowing no one's there to help you."

He spoke from experience this time, and his voice seemed to age ten years as he continued. "I've been there, too, but it gets better, you'll see. You just have to rest lots and let it heal. Eating helps if you can get the food but your magic should keep you alive otherwise." Suddenly a thought occurred.

"Do owls have magic, though?" Thoughts began to race through his mind. _How fast do owls heal? How will she eat? Is it even a she? Who does it belong to? How does it know Hedwig? It's not like she goes many places, just the Weasley's, the Grangers, and … Hogwarts! They must have met at the school owlery! But there are hundreds of people in that school, not all are even students. How will I find the owner? Will they even know their owl is missing? What should I do until then? I could take it home but Uncle Vernon could hurt it if he finds out, and then hurt me, too. But I can't just leave her here like this! Maybe I can hide her in the garden shed and take care of her while everyone's gone. I'm the only one who goes in there and if she's quiet it should be fine. Then I can contact her owner and they can come get her. Or can they? Should I give away my address? What if the owl belongs to a death eater? Would the wards hold up? Or what if she hasn't got an owner? I don't need two owls and I most certainly can't keep her in my room, Uncle Vernon would throw a fit!_

The owl cooed pathetically and closed its eyes, making Harry's decision for him. "Alright Hedwig, I take it you want me to take care of your friend?" Hedwig bobbed her head in agreement. "Alright, then I'll need your help. I need to splint this wing. Can you find a piece of string or something to tie a splint with? I'll find the two sticks." She flew off immediately and Harry cast around on his hands and knees in search of two small sticks to splint the wing with.

He found them after a few minutes of searching and made his way back to the injured owl, which looked up at him warily. "Alright, you're wing is broken and I need to set it and then put it in a splint. It's going to hurt but it needs to be done. Alright?" He stared hesitantly at the bird, who could easily turn his hand to hamburger if it wanted, and then breathed a sigh of relief when it hooted softly and offered him a better angle to its wing.

Slowly he stretched out the wing, wincing as the bones scraped against each other and the bird screeched in pain. Then it was done; the bones snapped into place and Harry blew out a breath he hadn't known he was holding, wiping his face with two intact hands. Hedwig arrived soon after with a piece of red string and carefully he splinted the broken wing and then scooped up the bird, carrying it in a sling he'd made of his shirt. He just hoped no one was around to ask questions about his back, but he figured it was dark enough that no one would see.

"Alright Hedwig, take us home." Maybe it was the time of night or lack of adrenalin but the way back seemed _much_ longer than the way there. Poor Harry was almost asleep on his feet when he was finally able to recognize his surroundings, and he still had to set up a temporary home for the bird.

Thinking of the bird he looked down into the sling that stretched across his chest. The injured bird was sleeping easily, its wing extended awkwardly but not painfully. He smiled at it and continued walking. By this point breathing had become almost impossible, his feet hurt, and his head was throbbing so loudly he could barely hear anything else. Still, he kept moving, knowing that if he was gone when the Dursleys woke he'd be a dead man, quite literally.

What seemed like hours later Harry finally stumbled up the walk to number 4 Privet Drive. Too tired to do much else Harry snuck as quietly as he could, (which wasn't all that quiet since he was breathing so loudly), back up to his room, hid the sling with the owl still in it in the closet, and then collapsed onto the bed.

When his Aunt Petunia pounded on the door the next morning Harry seriously considered barricading himself in and going back to sleep, but even his sleep-deprived mind realized that was a bad idea, which is why he was up at six in the morning cooking breakfast. It took all of his focus and willpower to not burn the bacon or toast and by the time the food was done he was exhausted.

 _Just a little bit left and then you can sleep. Come on Harry, you can do it. Go to the fridge. Good. Now pull out the orange juice. Excellent. Find a glass. Perfect. Now pour. Oh, oops, cap needs to come off first. Alright, now pour._ Things were almost done, almost perfect. He was so close. And then Dudley hit his arm. Again.

Now, over the past decade plus of living with the Dursleys Harry had developed very good reflexes, especially when it came to Dudley. This was partly why he was such a good seeker; he needed those reflexes to avoid a punch or jab or bludger, to him it was all the same.

He'd had these instincts since the toddler years, but sleep deprivation affects things like instincts. It was almost like his brain was filled with fog and the signal took extra-long to get through it, which is why Harry didn't move his arm until after Dudley hit it, effectively pouring orange juice straight down his uncles front.

Instincts. Harry had a lot of those. Dodge when something, like a fist, comes towards your face, always have an exit strategy, stay silent and unseen, etc. One of these instincts was to watch his uncle's face. You see, his face gave everything away.

If it colored blush red on his cheekbones he was angry and would respond with insults. If it colored blood red all throughout then he was angry and would respond with yelling. Dark red, almost purple, mean pure fury and Harry would receive a punch or two. The vein twitching made it a punch or six. If the squirrel tail, which Harry, in his sleep deprived state, decided to affectionately call "twitchy", began to twitch, he was going to get the crap beat out of him and/or end up sleeping outside. If the vein pulsed and twitchy twitched and his face looked like a plum he should run, and run fast.

Somewhere in the back of Harry's mind, beneath all the fog, an alarm was going off. Run! Run away, far away! But Harry was too tired to notice. The world was coming in a choppy series of images. Sounds couldn't be heard over the throbbing of his head. Flash. The first image of an enraged Vernon's mouth moving, his face the color of a plum, orange juice dripping off a now soggy mustache. Flash. A hand coming at him. Flash. He was in his room now. He wasn't sure how he got there but he was so glad to see the bed he didn't care. Flash. He was on the floor. It was cool. There was some liquid beneath him but he didn't care. Some part of his mind recognized this went past sleep deprivation. Maybe that combined with the concussion? Wait, what was that? A belt? Who cares, he was on the floor and he could finally sleep. So he did.

Harry's sleep was riddled with flashes of colors and sounds. The sickly green of a killing curse, the cackling of Umbitch, the bright red of the curse that sent Sirius through the veil, Cedric's lifeless eyes, his uncles fist raised above him, the prophecy being told, Snape's pensieve. It all jumbled together, all the worst moments of his life. There were many.

The image of a small broken wing in the shadows brought him to awareness. Opening his eyes he saw bright, early morning sunlight and was momentarily confused. He was never allowed to sleep past sunrise. Sitting up Harry noticed a small pool of blood on the floor and suddenly the events of the previous day (at least he assumed it had been the previous day) came flooding back through his mind.

Sitting up he took inventory. A few new bruises and scrapes but nothing bad. The blood on the floor was mostly from the cuts on his back reopening. They didn't even feel too bad. His head felt a little better after a long rest and his breathing was slightly easier.

It was odd; he should have been feeling like shit but he actually felt pretty good. Did his uncle decide to postpone the punishment until he was conscious? Or maybe this was some new type of psychological torture? Thinking about it for a moment, Harry shrugged. If he was feeling alright now, why bother making things worse?

Smiling slightly, though a little uncertainly, he headed to the door so he could use the bathroom and get some water for the owls. Reaching the handle he found that it wouldn't turn. He tried pulling, pushing, jiggling, and anything else we could think of. It wouldn't budge. He sat down heavily, the conclusion he'd come to an unwelcome one, to say the least.

His uncle hadn't skipped his punishment, he'd changed it, and this was worse. A few bruises he could handle. Being locked in his room for who knows how long would be horrid. No food, no water, no bathroom, no nothing. And even if his uncle only waited three days before letting him out to write the order their required letter, (which Harry had found the previous week was the only time Hedwig was able to send mail), that was still enough time to do serious damage, not necessarily to him but to the owl he was caring for.

Remembering the owl Harry got up and opened the closet, finding two very angry yellow eyes glaring at him. "Sorry it took so long. I'm afraid I slept through yesterday." The owl looked less than impressed with his excuse. Still, it allowed him to remove it from the sling and place it on Hedwig's perch with only a scratch or two on the hand.

Sensing her friends state Hedwig came soaring through the window, glancing at the injured owl and then hopping over to preen Harry's hair. Letting out a soft chuckle he patted her fondly. "Thanks girl. This might be as close to a shower as I can get these next few days." She gave him a look. "Uncle Vernon," he said simply, as if that would explain everything. And apparently it did because she looked at him, cooed sadly, and then returned to her preening.

Looking over the water dish Harry saw that it was about half full. "Hedwig, you'll have to get drinks from outside. This little guy, or girl, will need all we have here." Hedwig hooted in agreement. "Speaking of you," he said, now addressing the injured owl, "how about we try to find your owner?"

Harry thought for a minute before fetching a pen and parchment. Last week he'd tried to send his best friends, Hermione and Ron, letters asking how they were doing and apologizing for the DOM event. After the third time Hedwig had returned with unopened letter it became apparent that someone, most likely Dumbledore, had but a block on his mail.

When he'd attempted to owl the order two days later everything had went fine, leading Harry to several conclusions. The first was that Dumbledore hadn't learned anything from his explosion in his office after hearing the prophecy. The second was that he could only send mail either once every three days or only to the order.

Either way he wasn't very pleased. _Why can't they just leave me alone?! All I want is to be normal but they just won't let me be! And who the hell do they think they are, blocking my mail, sticking me with my relatives, and keeping important things from me?! And then they have the gall to tell me to stop acting like a child? Maybe I would if they stopped treating me like one!_

Pushing away his angry thoughts, Harry turned his attention to the task in front of him. _Alright, guess I can't really address it to anyone but hopefully Hedwig can find the owner anyway. Probably shouldn't include my name, seeing as how half the wizarding world wants me dead and the other half wants me locked away "for my own safety". Maybe just James, like my father? That's not entirely a lie and won't be suspicious or anything._

 _What about my address? I can't exactly meet them somewhere, seeing as how I'm locked in. Guess I'll have to face my chances. If Voldemort finds out, well, he's going to kill me anyway, now isn't he? Guess this'll just make things a bit easier for him._ Snapping out of his morbid thoughts, he dipped his quill in the bottle of never-dry ink Hermione had given him for Christmas and began to write.

 **To whom it may concern,**

 **Hello. I've sent my owl out with this letter in the hopes that it will make its way to you. You see, I've found your owl. It's alive and everything, but it has a broken wing so it can't fly home. I've put a splint on it but I don't have any healing potions and so can't do much else. It would be best if you could come and get it. I'm in muggle London, 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging. Just come to the back window on the left and I'll be happy to return your owl. Thanks.**

 **-James**

"Hedwig, can you take this to this little guy's owner?" Hedwig stuck out her foot in response and Harry tied it on. "Good luck, girl." He crossed his fingers and watched worriedly as his first gift, first friend, and first familiar flew off into the distance.

Hours later a young woman was startled out of her reading by a large, white owl tapping at her window. Neither she nor Harry had any idea how this little action would change the course of their entire lives.


	2. Making Peace

It had been two days since Hedwig had left. Two days with no food and no water. The owl's water was running dangerously low and the room was beginning to smell. He'd been using an old bucket he'd found in the closet as a loo but hadn't been able to empty it anywhere except outside and he was hesitant to do that for two reasons. First, if his uncle found out his punishment would be even worse than the one now. Second, if someone came to claim the owl, they'd be standing right where his…waste… would land.

He was also bored. No, bored was an understatement. He had past boredom hours ago. He'd already counted the number of panels in the floor, the number of cracks in the ceiling, even the number of breaths he took. He'd lost count in the thousands, but that had still only taken what seemed like a few minutes. Not that he would know how long it had been since the only clock he had had been broken by Dudley years ago. Since that had been the third time he'd broken it Harry had decided to just live without it after that.

Eventually his thoughts became more morbid. The night at the graveyard flashed across his eyes for the millionth time. Over and over he stared into Cedric's haunted eyes, at the matrix between brother wands, at the souls of his parents, saving his life once again. Each time the guilt deepened. If only he hadn't been so bloody noble. Hadn't offered to share the win with Cedric.

Suddenly a thought occurred. He'd once overheard a story on the tele of a woman who was diagnosed with cancer and told she had six months left to live. Ten years later she was in complete remission. The interviewer had asked what she had done to prepare for her death and the old woman had simply responded, "Forgive". She forgave her daughter, who'd treated her horribly the previous Christmas, her son, who'd been in and out of jail, her husband, for leaving her, the man who'd stolen her credit cards and destroyed her credit, but most importantly, she forgave herself.

"I just decided that even if the cancer took me, I could still die on my terms," she'd said to the interviewer. "I wanted to die a peaceful death in my sleep. I wanted to proud of my life, live with no regrets. Forgiving others was the easiest, I think, since I could focus on the lives they had yet to live and how they deserved the chance. But then I would think, don't I deserve the chance, too? After all, six months is a lifetime in and of itself. So I sat myself down one day and made a list of everything I regretted and doubted and felt guilty about. And then I went down the list and forgave myself for each thing. And let me tell you, those six months were the best times of my life."

Harry was going to die here, in this miserable, dingy room that had been his prison for so long. Why not do things like the old lady had and die on his own terms? Sitting up, Harry pulled out a piece of parchment and his quill and made a list of all the things that bothered him.

1\. The Dursleys.

2\. 3rd year- escape of Pettigrew.

3\. 4th year- Ron

4\. 4th year- graveyard

5\. 5th year- Snape's pensieve

6\. 5th year- failed occlumency

7\. 5th year- DOM- injured friends

8\. 5th year- DOM- Sirius

9\. 5th year- prophecy

Item one was easy. The Dursley's hated magic, were irrationally afraid of it and treated everything associated with it, like him, as "freakish". He couldn't have done anything differently. He'd known that for a long time. As for now, well he couldn't do much locked in his room, but he made a vow that if he somehow made it out he would never return there, blood wards or not. If necessary he would go on the run, but he was done for being punished for something he couldn't control.

Item two also wasn't too bad. He'd rather Pettigrew be free than Sirius be a murderer, and at that point those were his only options.

Onto items three and four. Fourth year had been a particularly hard year, what with the tournament and Ron's abandonment. He had to admit that that still stung. He'd never given his friends any reason to doubt him, and just when he needed them the most, Ron had turned on him. He'd eventually come round, but neither of them had completely forgotten, or at least he hadn't.

But it was over now, and done. Ron realized his error and Harry understood that jealousy and living in the shadow of both him and all his brothers had led Ron to make the decision he did. From now on it was history. They had been friends again for a year and a half, it was time to get over it. Still, there was a little voice that asked "what if he does it again?" Well, if Harry lived to see that, he'd tell Ron how he really felt and find a better friend, one who would stick with him through thick and thin.

Then of course there was Cedric. The graveyard was all his fault. Or was it? How was he supposed to know the cup was a portkey? He had been trying to do the right thing and fate had just flipped him the bird. With both hands. It was awful and sad, but it wasn't his fault that Voldemort was a crazy mass murdering wizard intent on returning from the edge of death.

Harry nodded his head decisively. He was nothing like Voldemort, nothing like him at all, nor was he responsible for ANYTHING that nutter ever did. A small weight lifted off his chest and he took a deep breath, finding the air easier to breath in and fresher than before. After centering himself for a minute, Harry moved to the next item on the list.

The past year had been hell. Pure and utter hell. Every minute of it. The evidence showed in the fact that over half his list consisted of events from the past year. Harry felt like he had aged ten years in the one. It was, to say the least, unpleasant.

Even more unpleasant than occlumency lessons with Snape, and that was saying something. Occlumency. That could have saved both his friends and Sirius. The guilt he felt at not trying harder was incredible. But could he have even done so? He didn't even know how to clear his mind, which were about the only instructions Snape had provided. If he hadn't been taught occlumency, then how was it his fault he didn't learn it? It wasn't.

The pensieve was his fault though. His curiosity had gotten the better of him, and he was irritated with all the secrets being kept from him. He just wanted to know what the hell was going on! Not in a million years had he imagined he would see what he saw.

His dad was a bully. Snape a victim. He fully understood Snape's anger at his invasion of privacy- he was ashamed. Harry knew that feeling all too well. He'd probably be mortified if it had been the other way around and Snape had seen him being dunked in a toilet or beaten by Dudley and his gang.

Still, it was over and done. He'd tried to apologize but Snape hadn't wanted to hear it. Just assumed that Harry enjoyed it, just like his "precious father". Harry grimaced, then sighed. What did it matter? He'd done something wrong, yes, but he couldn't change it now and he'd done everything he could to make it right. If Snape wanted to believe he was a monster, then that was his choice. Harry was through caring.

Yes, occlumency could have prevented the vision he received, maybe, but it might not have. Maybe Voldemort could have overpowered him or told him some other way. Or maybe he could have found another way to lure Harry and his friends to the DOM. His friends.

He winced remembering the bolt of sickly purple light hitting Hermione in the chest, then clenched his fists determinedly. He'd left the option open but they insisted on going with him, and honestly, he was thankful. He doubted he would have made it out without their help. And he'd trained them all year for a fight in the hopes it would save their lives. Since they all lived through it, he assumed he did something right. So really, he actually helped rather than hurt them.

Harry's eyes moved to the next item on the list and he gulped. Sirius. The one and only man who'd loved him like family. His eyes started to water remembering the red light, Bellatrix's taunt, and Sirius's fall through the veil. This one was still fresh, still painful, still sore. He wasn't sure if the pain would ever go away. The guilt, though, he was hoping he could do something about.

He'd already determined there was nothing he could do about the occlumency and thus the vision. What he'd said about his friends making their own choice applied to Sirius as well. His determination to not feel guilt for anything Voldemort did extended to Voldemort's followers as well, Bellatrix included. Logically, he shouldn't feel the way he did. He knew he wasn't guilty for certain, so why did he still feel this way? Maybe he was just too close to the matter to make a rational decision. But for now he knew the truth and hopefully his feelings would align to match this knowledge eventually.

Nodding firmly, Harry crossed out the list and threw it on the floor. He'd made peace with himself. He was ready, ready for death. At least he could die on his terms. Contentedly he closed his eyes, not expecting to open them ever again.

"Hello? Hello?! Is anybody there?" A feminine voice brought Harry to the edge of consciousness. "Anyone home? We're here for our owl!" The owl- he'd forgotten about it. He may be ready for death, but she wasn't. Groaning, Harry somehow raised himself up and staggered to the window. Glancing out with glazed eyes he located the source of the sound.

In his backyard about ten feet from the house stood two women dressed in muggle clothing that was almost acceptable in this century. The taller one looked to be in her upper thirties and had long blonde hair that hung to her waist. High cheekbones gave her an elegant, almost haughty look, but this was nulled by the existence of smile lines and a spark of life in her sapphire blue eyes.

The younger girl looked to be about Harry's age and was almost a carbon copy of her mother, except she was slighter shorter, about 5'6" compared to her mother's 5'9". That and her face lacked the smile worn appearance of her mother. In fact, it lacked any expression at all. The small part of Harry's brain still working recalled a few students discussing a slytherin girl they called the Ice Queen. This must be her.

"Oh hello there. I'm Evelyn Greengrass and this is my daughter Daphne. We were hoping to find her owl, Athena, here." Athena. At last the injured owl had a name. The triumph he felt gave him new strength and he stood a little taller.

"Hello. I'm H-," He was interrupted by excited chirping and a flutter of wings. "Hey, no! Don't do that, you'll hurt your wing again!" In its excitement the bird tipped over his inkwell, splattering black ink everywhere. "Hold still you blasted bird!" A tinkling laugh drew his attention back to the woman outside.

"You'll have to excuse Athena, I'm afraid she's quite energetic when excited." She grinned at Harry, her eyes dancing with mischief. Daphne's expression didn't change at all. Harry smiled wryly at them.

"So I've noticed," he said dryly. After another laugh he got down to business. "Her right wing's busted. I've been keeping it elevated in a splint but she could probably use some healing potions."

"We can't thank you enough for taking care of her. I shudder to think of what would have happened otherwise." A serious expression crossed her face before the smile was back in full force. "We'll be happy to have her back, and I'm sure you'll appreciate the solitude." He forced a smile.

"Yah." A confused expression flicked across the mother's face, eyes darting to meet her daughters. It was odd that the young man had requested they meet him at the back window instead of the front door, especially since no one seemed home. He also looked rather haggard and pale. Slightly suspicious, Evelyn quickly embraced her slytherin roots and began asking questions that were polite, common, and, if her suspicions were correct, very informative.

"You see, Athena is family to us. Her loss would hurt just as much as losing a parent or sibling," she said, carefully watching his face. Nothing. "Or cousin," she added as an afterthought. Aha- there it was. A flicker of something, she wasn't sure what, crossed his face. It made him look older and bitter.

"I understand," he lied.

"I'm sure you do. After all your lovely home just reflects that a loving family lives here." The same bitter expression crossed his face before it forcefully smoothed out again.

"Yes ma'am."

"Oh, dear, please call me Evelyn. Ma'am makes me feel so old." Despite himself Harry smiled. "So how shall we do this? Would you like us to come up, or will you come down?" He stiffened slightly.

"Actually, I was thinking I could just lower her out the window on my sheet and you could catch her." His cheeks tinged red in embarrassment and he sincerely hoped they wouldn't ask too many questions.

"Oh that sounds like too much trouble on your part. It will be much easier for us to come in and get her. She can be quite nasty with the claws otherwise, as I'm sure you know. Now," she continued, leaving no room for him to object, "We'll come up and save you the trouble." By the time she said that she and her daughter were already halfway to the door. "Which door is yours?"

Inside Harry was panicking. They couldn't come in, couldn't see. He may not blame himself for the way the Dursley's treated him, but that didn't mean he wasn't embarrassed about it! After all, he was supposedly the only one who could kill Voldemort but he couldn't even protect himself from three stupid muggles.

"Wait!" But by the time he spoke they were already through the door and didn't seem to have heard him.

Evelyn Greengrass and her daughter shared a look with each other as they stepped inside, pretending not to hear the young man's plea. They had been suspicious since receiving the boys note. Why the back window? Why not the door? They may not know much of muggles, but they did know that wasn't normal.

Discussing possible reasons over dinner the previous night, a common theme had been the idea that James, as the note read, wasn't supposed to have the owl. There were few reasons this should be. Perhaps his relatives were allergic. Or didn't want the mess. Or, as the case seemed to be, they either didn't like magic or didn't like the boy. Either seemed possible here.

Climbing rickety stairs lined with photos, both girls noticed that none seemed to feature James. Standing atop the landing they glanced down the hall at the doors, attempting to locate Harry's room. Suddenly her daughter clenched her fists and pointed.

There. The first door to the right. A strong, mahogany door, polished to a shine, stood tall at the top of the landing. It would have been grand except for the nine various locks and bolts on the _outside_ of the door, all in the locked state. Evelyn felt a sudden flood of fury and cast a wandless Alohamora. Turning the knob, she pushed gently and gasped.

The first thing that hit her was the smell, a combination of unwashed body, blood, and droppings, both owl and human. The next was the furniture. Broken and frail, it seemed foreign in a house so well decorated.

An intake of breath drew her eyes towards the much-too-thin form of James. He stood hunched over, his arms held to his side, trying to make himself appear smaller than his six foot frame. He had a shallow, worn face that seemed to have seen too much for his young years. A mop of black hair, mussed up and standing in all directions, sat on top. Dragging her eyes downwards she took in the rags that she supposed could have passed for clothes ten years ago and felt the fury begin to build inside her.

That soon stopped as her eyes came up to meet emerald green orbs that brimmed with embarrassment, anger, and determination. An odd mixture to say the least. Then her eyes flicked upwards, just a smidge, to a lightning bolt shaped scar and she inhaled sharply.

A small chirp drew her attention away before she could say anything. Her daughter Daphne was examining Athena's wing, and Athena was not appreciating the wait. After a moment she took a flask out of her pocket and placed three drops of an amber liquid in the owl's beak.

Noticing the boy's questioning stare, she said, "It's a special mix of skelegrow and pain relief potion, specifically made for owls. It ought to have her wing all healed up in a few minutes- the break wasn't too bad." He nodded and stuffed his hands in his pockets, looking anywhere but at them. Evelyn exchanged a look with her daughter and walked over to coo over Athena, giving the poor boy some space.

After about five minutes Athena hopped up and carefully flexed her wing. Chirping in delight she jumped up and flew around the room, then landed sluggishly. "Careful, you silly bird," Evelyn laughed. "It may be healed but it's not ready to take that much stress yet. You'll have to wait a few days before you go flying outside." Athena glared at her mistress and then turned pleading eyes over to Harry. He quickly held his hands up and backed away.

"I may be young and stupid, but even I know not to argue with a woman." Daphne lips twitched at this and Athena pouted.

"James," Evelyn said carefully, making sure to use the name supplied in his note and not his real one, "we really can't thank you enough for your help. I know you don't want praise or money, but could we perhaps take you out to lunch?" He looked at her, eyes strong and full of longing, before they turned dull and he looked down at the floor.

"I can't leave," he mumbled. Evelyn's brow scrunched up.

"What do you mean, you can't leave?" He struggled for a moment, and Evelyn could see the argument play out across his face. She almost cheered when she saw the outcome and he opened his mouth to tell her.

"I-," suddenly a loud pop was heard and he whipped his head around. On his lawn stood ten wizards in black cloaks and white masks. "Death Eaters," Harry whispered. Adrenalin began to pump through his body and he reached for his wand, only to recall it was locked in the cupboard downstairs.

"Shit," he swore, then spun and went with plan B. "There's too many to fight. You need to get out of here- fast. Since they can apparate in I assume you can apparate out, but you need to go now before they put up anti-apparition wards." Evelyn opened her mouth to argue but he cut her off. "There's no time! Go!"

Nodding she grabbed Athena, stunned her, and put her in a pocket. She then reached for Daphne's hand and Harry turned to look out the window again. It was time. Time to die. A sudden hand on his elbow startled him and suddenly he felt the sickening feeling of being stuffed in a tube and shoved out the other side. This proved to be too much for Harry's weakened body and as the pressure suddenly eased his world went black.


	3. Greengrass Manor

Harry awoke on a cloud. At least, he assumed it was a cloud. What else would be so light and fluffy and comfy? His fingertips brushed across the soft material and he sighed. Definitely a cloud. Which made sense, since he was dead. Harry smiled and then had a thought- if he was in heaven, he would be able to see his parents! He opened his eyes excitedly and looked around.

Well, this was not what he expected. He was in a large, decadent room. The large dome ceiling was circled in white molding. Gold accents lined the molding, adding elegance and richness to an already grand design. The white walls were decorated with various things; on his right was a large window shuttered by soft golden curtains that danced in the summer breeze. On his left were golden fold-up doors that presumably led to a closet. In front of him were two simple wooden doors, and behind him hung a painting of a swan on a lake in the moonlight.

What he'd thought to be a cloud was actually a very large bed with the softest mattress he'd ever seen. It was a canopy bed, and the sheer golden curtains were currently tied back. The room was, in a word, gorgeous.

Gingerly Harry slipped his feet over the side and slid to the floor. A flicker of surprise went through him at the lack of pain he felt. Wiggling his shoulders, he deduced that his wounds had been healed while he was either sleeping or dying; at this point he wasn't sure anymore. Curious, Harry decided to open the door on the right.

It led to a modest bathroom, accented in gold like the bedroom. Taking advantage of the hot water and loo, Harry use the toilet and scrubbed off all the grime from the Dursley's. Moving in front of the mirror, Harry noticed he was wearing plain black pajamas; a button up top and flannel bottoms. Not wanting to think about how they got there, he busied himself with cleaning his teeth and attempting, unsuccessfully, to tame his hair.

When he finally felt human again he stepped out of the bathroom and opened the next door. Moving forwards, Harry found himself in a long, elegant hallway lined with paintings and small tables holding little trinkets and gadgets that were pleasing to the eye. Seeing as how he was close to what he assumed to be the end, he turned left and went off in search of some human contact.

Wandering down a spiral staircase, through two sitting rooms and the kitchen, Harry eventually detected voices in a room to his right. Walking through a sturdy doorway Harry found himself in what seemed to be a dining room occupied by four people.

In the middle of the room stood a large mahogany table that could comfortably hold ten or twelve people. A huge window overlooking a pond bordered by a thick green forest made the entirety of the Western wall. Other than the chairs at the table the room was rather empty, but not in a way that reflected a lack of resources but more in a cozy way that felt like home. He wondered if the people at the table were the people that considered this home.

On the far side of the table sat the woman who'd come to retrieve the injured owl, Evelyn Greengrass. Across from her sat the owner of the owl, the young woman known as Daphne. Next to Daphne sat a young girl with light brown hair and a slim, wiry build, eating the last of her cereal. Finally, at the head of the table sat a man with light brown hair and soft green eyes. He had a strong jaw and was built like a rugby player, tall and broad shouldered. He would be intimidating except for the way he looked at the girls to his left with such love in his eyes.

Suddenly the brown-haired girl turned towards him, face settled in a pout. Bright blue eyes landed on his and the girl gave an excited squeal, forgetting her previous activity. "You're awake!" Three heads snapped towards him and he subconsciously took a step back.

"Good morning dear. How are you feeling," Evelyn asked concernedly. Confused. Harry was feeling confused. Hoping for some answers, Harry blurted the first thing that came to mind.

"I'm not dead." The young girl giggled, Daphne raised an eyebrow, and the man and woman smiled at him.

"No, dear, you're not. Do you remember what happened?" Harry thought for a moment, trying to recall their meeting. Suddenly the memories raced back to him and he blushed a bright red. They had been in his room! They had seen him being weak and useless and- sensing that Harry was about to freak out, Evelyn intervened.

"When the death eaters attacked I grabbed you and Daphne and apparated out of there, just in time I might add. When we arrived here you had fallen unconscious. We called for the family healer," here Harry paled a little, "and he fixed you right up." Seeing his paleness, she added, "don't worry, dear, he's been a family friends since before you were born. He won't tell anyone what happened." He nodded slowly, his fears partly allayed.

"Where are my manners?! You know me and my daughter Daphne. This is my husband, Cyrus, and my youngest daughter, Astoria. We all would love to welcome you to Greengrass Manor." She gestured around her grandly but winked at him as she did so. Harry found himself smiling.

"Thanks," he said awkwardly. Evelyn waved it off.

"It was no problem…"

"Harry," he responded to the unasked question. "Harry Potter." He tensed, anticipating their reaction, but all he received were nods and smiles.

"Welcome, Harry, to our home. Would you like some breakfast?" Nodding, he sat in the empty chair next to Evelyn and fell on the plate she handed him like a starving man, which, to be fair, he kind of was. Thankful no one said anything about his eating or manners, Harry scarfed down three plates of food before sitting back contentedly.

Glancing around, he noticed everyone was staring at him. Not that this was unusual, given that practically everyone stared at him, but he found something else mixed in with their curiosity that made him pause- concern. "What?" Cyrus leaned forward on his elbows.

"When you were attacked the other day-"

"Wait, what do you mean other day?" He looked him right in the eye.

"Harry, you've been unconscious for almost three days."

"What?! But-but, that's impossible!"

"It's rare, certainly, but not impossible. When you're injured you're body and magic take the time to heal you in your sleep. The more you're injured, the more healing that needs to be done and thus the longer you sleep. In your case you were on the brink of death so it took your magic and your body more time to fix everything, even with the help of our healer. You're very lucky- a few more hours in that place and you wouldn't have made it," he said seriously.

"Wouldn't have mattered anyway," Harry mumbled. Four pairs of eyes were drawn to him. "Oops." Guess he said it louder than he intended.

"Harry," Evelyn began, "that's the second time you've said something, well, odd. The first was that you couldn't leave that place," she practically spat the word, "which I refuse to call a home. The second is that it sounds like you were expecting to die. I know you've only known us a short period of time and have little reason to trust us, but we'd really like to help you if you'll only let us." For a moment Harry seriously considered it. He was going to die anyway, so what did he have to lose? But this wasn't just about him. Everyone who helped him he put in danger, just look at Sirius. It wasn't fair to do that to the very people who had saved his life.

They must have been thinking along the same lines because the next thing Cyrus said addressed this problem. "Harry, before you respond there are some things you ought to know. The Greengrass family is a very old family. It's been around for centuries, and each century has lived in this very house." Harry looked around in surprise.

"Yes, it's quite impressive, if I do say so myself. When the house was first created it was protected by some powerful wards, including the fidelus. Over time, each generation added their own wards and strengthened the ones that were already present. This has led to some incredibly powerful wards surrounding this house. Still, that isn't all. There is a type of magic known only to the old families who've been around a long time, like us. It has no name, but we refer to it as family magic. This magic simply recognizes those of a family line, much like the vaults at Gringotts."

Harry had no clue what he was talking about but nodded anyway. "It recognizes when one family has lived in one place for a very long time and creates its own ward, which we call the family ward. The longer the family lives there, the stronger the wards get. The Greengrass family has lived here for over five hundred years. Put simply, our wards can't be penetrated. At all. Ever. You are safe here, safer than practically anywhere else, and my family is in no more danger than before."

Well, there went Harry's only reason for keeping his mouth shut. After a few moment he nodded. "It's a long story and a very unpleasant one." His eyes darted to Astoria, who looked only to be about eleven or twelve.

"It's alright, dear. Astoria may only be going into her second year, but she can handle it. Besides, if we kick her out she'll just find a way to listen in, anyway," Evelyn said, shooting her daughter an exasperated look. Astoria just smirked.

"Alright then, where should I start?"

"Let's move to the den and get comfy first." Cyrus led them to a small room with a large stone fireplace on one wall and forest green paint on the other three. Large fluffy couches and chairs circled the fireplace. The whole room was, in a word, cozy. Harry settled down in a big brown arm chair right in front of the fire, facing the room. The others took positions facing him so that they forced a circle around Harry.

"What do you want to know first?"

"We found you in…less than desirable conditions. How long have things been like that," Evelyn asked. Great- the one topic Harry didn't want to discuss.

"I've lived with my Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin ever since my parents died. It's always been like that. Well, it used to be worse. They would lock me in my cupboard a lot, but when my Hogwarts letter came they let me have Dudley's second bedroom."

"Cupboard?" Evelyn's hands were clenched into fists and Cyrus had a hard look in his eyes. A glance at the girls revealed that Astoria was crying quietly and Daphne's mask had slipped. Horror and anger shown in her eyes, though you had to look for it to see it.

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Harry's anger flared.

"I did," he said bitterly. "Once in primary school I told a teacher after she noticed the bruises. They called my aunt and uncle and they came in and explained that I was an attention seeking liar who got into fights with my cousin. The teacher believed them. She ignored me the rest of the year. That night Uncle Vernon broke my arm."

Evelyn had tear in her eyes. Astoria got up and sat next to him, hugging him tightly. Harry was surprised at the gesture but eventually leaned into it. When she made no move to leave he continued.

"I've talked about my cupboard at Hogwarts and how horrible the Dursley's are. Every year I beg not to be sent back, but no one listens. Eventually Dumbledore told me there are blood wards at the house created by my mother that will keep me safe, but I have to go back to recharge them every year." The three eldest Greengrasses stiffened in their seats. "What?"

"Harry, blood wards are illegal. Very illegal. And for good reason. They drain the magic of the person whose blood is used in order to create the wards. Unless the wizard or witch has stronger magic than the caster, they can be turned into a squib or even killed. Your mother would never have created them, let alone using your blood." Confusion flickered across his face.

"But Dumbledore said-"

"Harry, didn't you read the packet of laws you were given with your letter," Daphne asked, exasperated. Harry's confusion grew.

"What packet? I never got a packet." Her eyebrows drew together in confusion.

"Every muggle raised is given a packet of laws pertaining to the wizarding world, the book An introduction to the Wizarding world, and directions to both diagon alley and platform nine and three quarters. Your guide should have given them to you and your relatives when they dropped off your letter." The confusion on Harry's face never left.

"I never got any of those things. One day I got a letter in the mail. The Dursley's threw it away before I could read it. Over the week they threw away more and more letters until there were so many that they just ran away. We moved to a small island and that's when Hagrid came with my letter and ticket." Looks of concern and outrage filled the faces around him.

"Hagrid? Didn't Professor McGonagall deliver your letter?"

"No, Hagrid did. Broke down the door and everything. Then he gave Dudley a pig's tail." Harry grinned at the memory.

"The letter and other information should have been delivered to you by Professor McGonagall the first time at your place of residence. That it wasn't is… suspicious. But go on, maybe this will make more sense as you continue."

Harry snorted. "That's about as likely as Malfoy volunteering at a muggle homeless shelter, but I'll try anyway. What next?"

"Why did you think you were gonna die," Astoria's small voice piped from beside him. He squirmed uncomfortably.

"There's a prophecy about me and Voldemort." He was surprised that no one flinched at the use of his full name. "Neither can live while the other survives. Since I can't even pass my classes it's rather obvious who would win in a fight." Cyrus shared a look with his wife and eldest daughter.

"Why not start from the beginning?"

"Alright. Well, you already know about my letter. Hagrid took me with him to diagon alley and we went to Gringotts to my vault."

"Tell me more about that," Cyrus said.

"Well, umm, we walked in and Hagrid handed them my key-"

"Wait, what? Hagrid had your key?"

"Umm, yah. Why?"

"It's illegal for someone else to have your key, even with your permission. Only house elves are allowed that right. Do you have your key now?"

"No, Mrs. Weasley usually gets my money and school supplies. I'm not usually allowed out- they say it's too dangerous." Harry was growing angry now. He didn't like people keeping things from him and it seemed like practically everyone was.

"We'll take you to Gringotts tomorrow and have them make you a new key. Anyway, continue."

"I got my wand, which turned out to be the brother wand to Voldemort's. That was really the only exciting thing, except when Hagrid took the stone from Gringotts."

"What stone?"

"The Sorcerer's stone, but I'm getting to that." They nodded and he continued. "He left and I had to find my way to the platform. That's when I met the Weasley's and they showed me how."

"The Weasley's? Why would they be using the muggle entrance instead of the floo? And why were they so early? They're practically always there about one minute before the train leaves." Harry thought that over. He had a point, the Weasley's never used the muggle entrance when he was with them, only that one time. Oh.

"You think it was a set up? That Dumbledore asked them to meet me there and befriend me?" Cyrus nodded.

"It looks likely. I'm sorry, Harry." He nodded numbly. Certain things were falling together, like why Ron found him on the train. It was impossible that everywhere else was full, the train was huge! And why Ron seemed to resent him sometimes, but after a scolding from his mother became his best friend. It made his stomach hurt. He had been played the fool. Astoria hugged him tighter and this time he hugged her back. Gathering his courage, he continued.

"On the train I met Malfoy and decided I didn't want to be in slytherin. Ron kept talking about evil Slytherins and awesome Gryffindors and I just fell for it." He shook his head in disgust and Astoria hugged him tighter.

"You couldn't have known," Astoria assured him. He shrugged. He knew she was right but that didn't really help much at the moment.

"Then I was sorted into Gryffindor and we became friends. On Halloween Quirrell let a troll in to the school and it attacked Hermione."

"How did you know it was Quirrell? And what happened to the troll?"

"We found out that the sorcerer's stone was hidden in the school-"

"WHAT?! They hid the most powerful object out there in a school full of CHILDREN?!"

"Yah, I always wondered about that. I mean, it wasn't even that well protected. A group of first years made it through no problem. Then it turns out Quirrell had been possessed by Voldemort and was after the stone all along."

"So the year Harry Potter is coming to school Dumbledore gets a hold of a possessed teacher and the legendary sorcerer's stone and 'hides' them behind some meager protection, leaving the legendary Harry Potter to clean up the mess," Daphne summarized. "So much for Hogwarts being the safest place on earth," she said sarcastically. Harry nodded in agreement.

"Yah, it was also odd that he was gone the night Quirrell went after it and that McGonagall wouldn't believe us when we told her."

"You told a teacher and they did nothing?!"

Harry snorted. "When have they ever? So anyway, I wake up in the hospital wing, the stone's been destroyed, and Dumbledore gives me a pat on the shoulder and a bunch of house points and then ships me off to the Dursleys."

"Wait a minute, _that's_ why we lost the house cup that year?" Daphne looked pissed. "That- that- wanker!"

"Daphne," Evelyn scolded, "language".

"She has a point Evie," said Cyrus, who received a glare from his wife. "Er, Harry, go on."

"Okay, so second year the chamber of secrets was reopened and several students were petrified. Ginny Weasley was taken and Ron and I went after her. I found out I was a parselmouth and the whole school shunned me, which was great for sneaking out. We found the entrance to the chamber in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom and I opened it with parseltongue.

Long story short Ginny had been writing in this creepy diary and ended up possessed by a young Tom Riddle, better known today as Lord Voldemort. He sent the monster, which turned out to be a basilisk, after me but I killed it with the sword of Gryffindor and then stabbed the diary with its fang, killing the almost resurrected Voldemort. Oh, and Lockhart ended up obliviating himself. That's pretty much it."

"Pretty much it?! You fought a basilisk? Wait, there was a basilisk in the school with my baby and THEY DIDN'T TELL ME?!" Evelyn Greengrass was seriously pissed.

"Odd that Dumbledore knew nothing about a huge snake travelling through the castle, especially since the wards would have alerted him." Cyrus looked like he thought it a little more than just odd.

"You think he knew? That this was all some insane test?!"

Cyrus nodded. "I think that's exactly what it was."

"So for one measly boy, no offense Harry, he put hundreds of students in danger?!"

"Just wait till you hear about fourth year. Or fifth for that matter. A basilisk is nothing." She looked ready to explode at this comment but a strong hand on her shoulder stopped her. Cyrus gave her a look that said "we need to stay strong for him". She nodded and cuddled into his side. Harry watched longingly from his seat. This was what a real family was like. Turning away he continued.

"Third year I wasn't allowed into Hogsmeade because the Dursley's wouldn't sign my slip because I'd accidentally blown up my Aunt Marge," Astoria giggled here and he grinned sheepishly. "Dumbledore wouldn't sign it because he said it was too dangerous, although no one told me why. It was until winter when I snuck into Hogsmeade that I found out Sirius Black was my godfather, had betrayed my parents, and had escaped from Azkaban to come after me."

His face suddenly hardened. "But he was innocent," he said, his voice full of steel. "The real betrayer was Peter Pettigrew, who had spent the last eleven years in his animagus form, a rat. At the end of the year Sirius caught him but he got away when Lupin transformed into a werewolf. Fudge arrested Sirius and refused to listen when I told him he was innocent. Fudge is an idiot. So Hermione and I freed him and buckbeak, a hippogriff, later. For a moment I thought I'd finally found a family, but then Fudge took him away." Harry was close to tears, but whether they were sad or angry tears no one was sure.

"After another summer at the Dursleys fourth year happened, only to find that the Triwizard Tournament would be hosted that year. Professor Moody, who turned out to be a polyjuiced Barty Crouch junior, put my name in the goblet and Dumbledore told me there was no way out, I had to compete or lose my magic.

Ron was so pissed at me that he didn't talk to me until second task. Once again the school shunned me. First task was a dragon, second was mermen, and the third was the maze. It was there that Cedric and I grabbed the cup that had been turned into a portkey. It took us to a graveyard with Pettigrew sat with the being that held Voldemort's soul.

They killed Cedric first, then took my blood and used it to resurrect Voldemort." His tone had become emotionless and empty by then. "He challenged me to a duel and when our wands met priori incantatem occurred between the brother wands, buying me enough time to grab Cedric's body and get the hell out of there. A few days later I was back at the Dursley's, angry that no one believed me."

"That's ridiculous. They could have just redrawn the names, or even just had you not compete. The contract is between the person who enters their name and the goblet, not the name on the paper. If you hadn't participated the fake Moody would have paid the consequences. And sending you back to that horrid place after such a traumatic incident was a horrible decision on anyone's part."

"Yah, especially since Dumbledore put blocks on my mail."

"That's illegal!" Astoria looked horrified.

"I'm starting to think that doesn't bother him. Anyway, over the summer and following year the Daily Prophet ran a smear campaign, dragging my name through the mud. No one believed that Voldemort was back. Fudge actually believed I was after his job, the idiot, so he sent Umbitch, oops, I mean Umbridge to be high Inquisitor. She gave me detentions for pretty much anything, having me write lines with a blood quill." Evelyn gasped.

"Harry, those are illegal! You should have told!" He gave a wry smile.

"When I went to McGonagall she told me just to keep me head down. When Dumbledore left I started Dumbledore's Army, the DA, as it's called, to teach kids the defense we weren't learning from class. Meanwhile I was having visions of a room in the ministry. Dumbledore believed it was my connection to Voldemort," he tapped his scar, "that was causing this. To 'fix' it I had occlumency lessons with Snape."

"And tell me about these lessons," Cyrus said calmly. "I'm a master occlumens, I'm curious what technique he used."

"Technique? There was no technique. He would tell me to clear my mind and then shout 'legilimens' and rip through my mind. Gave me some of the nastiest headaches ever." Cyrus now looked as angry as his wife.

"Why that-that-wanker!" Daphne smirked at her father's repetition of her earlier statement. "That is NOT the way you teach occlumency! In fact, that can permanently damage your ability to learn the art! What was that idiot thinking?!" Harry shrugged.

"He doesn't like me. Never has." Daphne nodded in agreement.

"Since before the first class, actually. It was rather odd."

"Well, he hated my father, too. Apparently my dad bullied him in school and he blames me for it." Four frowning faces met his.

"Anyway, those lessons ended eventually and one night I had a vision that Voldemort had taken my godfather hostage at the Ministry. Me, Hermione, Ron, Luna, and Neville went to the hall of prophecies to save him, but he wasn't there. The vision was fake. We dueled as strongly as we could and some of the order showed up."

"What order?"

"The Order of the Phoenix. Dumbledore's group of vigilantes. Mostly they tell me what to do, or what not to do. There were some watching me at the Dursley's over the summer."

"But that means…"

Harry nodded grimly. "They knew what it was like there, and they did nothing. Want to know the worst part? A few were aurors, and a few were people I consider family. Some family," he said bitterly.

"How did you escape from the ministry?" Astoria looked at him worriedly. "Was everyone okay?" Tears pooled in Harry's eyes.

"The students were all fine. Sirius-" he choked, the pain was still fresh and raw, "Sirius went through the veil." They all gasped.

"Oh Harry, I'm so sorry." Astoria leaned into his shoulder and started to cry. Harry continued his story despite the tears running down his face.

"I tried to crucio Bellatrix after that but I couldn't do it, it just wouldn't work. Voldemort showed up then. He and Dumbledore dueled and then he tried to possess me, but I fought it off. Fudge showed up about then and finally realized I hadn't been lying. Dumbledore portkeyed me back to his office and showed up about an hour later. That's when he told me of the blood wards and prophecy."

The Greengrasses weren't shocked at the bad timing after hearing everything else, but that to them was the last straw. "After that I went back to the Dursleys, and you know the rest." Absolute silence claimed the room for the next five minutes as everyone tried to digest what they'd heard and Harry tried to gain control over his emotions.

"Alright," Cyrus began softly, "there are a few things that need to be done next. First of all, thank you, Harry, for sharing that with us. I can't imagine it was easy. Second, it goes without saying that you're welcome, and in fact strongly encouraged, to stay here until we sort this all out. We have plenty of room and love the company so you won't be a bother. Third, we need to take you to Gringotts and get your finances sorted out. There are things you need to know, but that can wait until tomorrow. Fourth, I need to contact some friends at the ministry.

You may not know but I'm on the Wizengamot as well as the school board. I'll send out some feelers on people's opinions of Dumbledore. Maybe we'll find some allies. Then we'll need to put together a plan. For now, however, you need some clothes and some time to think. Dinky, our house elf, can get you anything you need. Outside there's a quidditch pitch and a lake you can swim in. Anything here is open to you and we'll be around if you need to talk. Stay inside the wards for now, but Harry, know that you're not a prisoner here and can leave at any time. Sound okay?" Harry nodded.

"Thanks, for everything." That wasn't enough for what they'd done for him, but it was all he had to offer just then.


	4. Breakfast

A/N: I decided to split the next chapter into 2 parts, so this one will be rather short. To placate you I'll be uploading chapter 5 right along with it.

* * *

Harry woke the next morning in a state of nervous anticipation. He was already a mess after learning that Dumbledore had been playing with his life. He wasn't sure if he could handle any other betrayals, and he had a bad feeling that he'd only reached the tip of the iceberg yesterday.

He recalled the looks of horror and anger on the various faces of the Greengrasses. It was odd. He'd never really had people in his life that got upset on his behalf, no one usually cared or they were his age and unable to do anything. It was almost…nice. Like a family.

But who was he kidding, he'd only been there four days, and he was only conscious for one and spent that whole day alone in contemplation. He didn't know them well enough to see them as family. Yet, he was having to consciously fight those feelings, because when all was said and done, they'd done something no one else ever had: they saw how bad his life was and then _did_ something about it.

He'd had several people, including the Weasley's and his watcher Arabella Figg, who'd reported directly to Dumbledore, comment on how hard his life was and how something needed to be done, but that was where the conversation ended. Dumbledore had always said no, he had to suffer through it.

The Greengrasses, though, hadn't even considered leaving him. When he'd yelled for them to get away, Evelyn had grabbed him along with Daphne. She had cared about his safety as much as her _daughters._ That single fact simply amazed him.

Shaking out of his thoughts, Harry climbed out of his enormous, fluffy, delightful bed and took a long, hot shower. God he loved it here. Dressing in the robes that Dinky had left out, taken from Cyrus's closet and shrunk down to fit, he headed downstairs to breakfast.

The Greengrasses always ate together when they were home at breakfast and at dinner. They'd added a chair next to Evelyn and across from Astoria for him and hadn't thought any more of it. Every time he walked in the room Harry had to fight not to stop and stare at his chair. _His_ chair. He hadn't even been allowed to eat at the Dursley's let alone at the table, and at Hogwarts everyone just kind of sat wherever they wanted. But here, at the family home of his rescuers, he had his own chair. And it felt great.

Smiling, he sat down and looked about. Surprisingly Daphne was the only one there. Seeing his questioning look she explained, "I'm an early riser, always have been. Tori, on the other hand, sleeps like the dead until she's forcefully removed from her bed. That's my mom's job, so they're usually down here a little later. Dad always arrives last because he gets a head start on his work in his office beforehand and comes over when he hears mom and Tori arrive."

"What does your dad do?"

"A lot. The main thing is he has a seat on the Wizengamot and is the head of his party, the neutrals. They're the ones that don't let whose introducing the bill, be it a flamboyant old nutter like Dumbledork or a slimy ponce like Malfoy, affect how they view a new or old law or case." Harry snorted at her colorful descriptions. He'd noticed that she was usually pretty quiet and distant but when she spoke she revealed a strong mind and wicked sense of humor.

"How come we never talk at school," he asked abruptly. "You're pretty funny. And smart. And kind of scary." She smirked at the last description, then became more serious.

"You're a Gryffindor, I'm a Slytherin. I wasn't aware there needed to be more than that."

"That's stupid, though. You're not an evil git like Malfoy. Maybe if people knew more Slytherins like you they wouldn't think so poorly of them."

"Yah, but there are…difficulties in us branching out." He gave her a questioning like and she sighed and frowned a little. It was the most expression he'd seen on her face to date.

"Slytherins are very…controlling of one another. We don't really have anyone else to lean on so our house becomes a big family of sorts, and some of the older years feel as though they know what's best and…direct us towards certain people and ideals. One of these is not to trust outsiders. Basically, we don't need anyone that's not a Slytherin. Another is to not openly reject the ideals of the dark lord." Seeing his suspicious glance she scowled at him.

"That doesn't mean we're all pureblood supremacists who enjoy torturing innocent muggles and muggleborns for fun. It just means we don't openly say otherwise. Alienating yourself from the house is…unforgivable. You won't just be shunned and pranked like the other houses would do. You'll get beaten and raped and possibly killed. People learn really quickly to go with the flow, otherwise they live a really miserable life, if they live at all. There are some Slytherins, however, who disagree with the whole pureblood argument. I know of at least two in my year that are against it and three neutrals."

"Who?"

"Tracey Davis and Blaise Zabini." He looked confused.

"But they both hang around Malfoy all the time." She snorted.

"That blond ponce thinks the sun shines out of his arse. No one really respects him, but right now he represents the majority of the house and his father is in a powerful position, both with death eater ranks and in the government. Therefore it's best to stay on his good side. It's all about power, Potter."

He shook his head. "I wouldn't have lasted a day. Too many politics for me." She nodded.

"You're right on one account, there is a lot of politics. Luckily I grew up surrounded by them because of my father so I had quite an advantage."

"You said you father was on the Wizengamot. What else does he do?"

"Several things. Because of his activities on the Wizengamot he needs to know the laws forwards and backwards. He figured if he was going to do that why not get paid for it so he opened his own company that provides excellent defenses to people in tight spots."

"I could've used him last year, and the year before come to think of it." She nodded.

"Yah, well, now that he knows what's been going on he won't let any of that crap happen anymore. He's very good at what he does, trust me." He smiled at her.

"Thanks." She cocked her head at him and examined him closely. "What," he asked self-consciously.

"You know, you're nothing like I expected."

"And what were you expecting?"

"Someone more…cocky. With a bigger ego, playing off his status. Everyone at school thinks you're arrogant and self-entitled. Plus you get whatever you want since you're Dumbledore's golden boy." She regretted the words the instant they were out of her mouth and she winced at the look of pain that flashed across his face. Before she could apologize he grimaced and spoke.

"Yah, well, I have a feeling after today he won't be thinking too highly of me and I won't be giving any f-"

"Good morning dear," Evelyn chirped from the doorway, sending Harry a look. He blushed and stammered an apology.

"No worries Harry," Cyrus said cheerfully. "After all, you're probably right. While we're on the topic, I thought it might be best if just you and I went to Gringotts today and the girls met us later for some shopping. What do you think?"

"That sounds fine. How will we get there?"

"We'll floo to the Leaky Cauldron and then make our way to the bank. I'll put a glamour on you so no one recognizes you. After all, it's not exactly hard to pick you out of a crowd." Harry nodded and frowned.

"Tell me about it." For the rest of the meal by unspoken agreement they all discussed trivial matters. It was going to rain all week. The Chudley Cannons lost again-surprise surprise. Tori's friend Sam was coming over that weekend. The berry crop was looking excellent. Etc.

Finally the meal came to an end and Cyrus stood up. "Ready?" Harry stood and nodded. No, he wasn't ready, and he wasn't sure he ever would be. He knew, he just knew, that something would go wrong today, or perhaps had already gone wrong, because that was the way his life went.

But he was a Gryffindor for a reason, so he gathered all his courage and followed Cyrus to the fireplace, which burned the unnatural green of floo powder. Cyrus mumbled a spell and suddenly harry had chestnut brown hair, brown eyes, tan skin, and, most importantly, no lightning scar.

"Keep your hood up and head down. The walk to the bank isn't far. If we get separated or attacked, make your way there. And Harry?" Harry looked up, his face one of grim determination. Cyrus's voice softened and he put his hand on Harry's shoulder. "Relax, it's going to be alright. You'll see."

Harry attempted a smile but it came out as more of a grimace. Cyrus must have approved, though, because, after a gentle squeeze of the shoulder, he let go, stepped into the flames, and shouted "The Leakey Cauldron!" Giving the remaining Greengrasses the same, painful smile, Harry followed him into the flames…


	5. Gringotts

…And promptly fell flat on his face. Hearing a chuckle from his left, Harry turned and glowered at Cyrus, who only chuckled more. "Come along Henry. And do watch your step." Harry climbed to his feet, grumbling, but the tension he'd been feeling had lightened considerably and soon he was walking alongside Cyrus, grinning at the scenery.

As they walked towards Gringotts people gave Harry suspicious looks and shied away. It was so unlike his usual mobbed trip that he almost began to skip. However, he was here on a mission and his leg was still aching from the Dursley's treatment so he settled for putting a light bounce into his step.

Cyrus, seeing the youth's antics, grinned and slowed his pace. He had a suspicion their trip to Gringotts would yield some monstrous secrets and criminalities and he wanted to spend as much time with this happy young man as he could before that happiness was stolen from him as well.

All too soon they reached the marble stairs of the wizarding bank and Harry's smile and bounce turned to nervous shuffling and a grimace. Cyrus adopted a serious expression and walked purposefully up to an open teller.

"Hello Griphook," Harry said softly. The goblin behind the window looked up at him, surprised. Mistaking surprise for confusion, Harry added, "You took me to my vault some years ago. Oh, I guess you probably don't recognize me, I've got a glamor on, but I'm Harry Potter." Harry was rambling at this point but he was too nervous to stop. The goblin was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Of course I recall you, mister potter, though you have grown quite a bit since your last visit. And have no fear, we goblins can see through glamors." Before Harry could begin rambling again Cyrus cut in.

"Greetings keeper Griphook, Mister Potter and I are here on an urgent matter that shouldn't be discussed around listening ears," he said quickly, glancing about. "Is it possible for us to meet privately?" Griphook stared at them both for a moment, then turned his sign around to display "Closed" instead of "Open".

"Come with me." They followed him through a set of double doors of to the side and down a series of hallways, eventually stepping into a small office. Griphook sat at the large wooden desk and Harry and Cyrus sat in the two guest chairs, which proved quite comfy. "Does this fulfill your needs?" They nodded and Cyrus spoke.

"Mister Potter here-"

"Harry." Cyrus nodded.

" _Harry_ here has recently discovered some rather startling facts about his life that have, how shall we put it, let him to question peoples he previous thought…respectable. In order to ascertain the extent of what can only be called a betrayal or conspiracy we have come to obtain information regarding his accounts and heritage." Griphook nodded, reading between the lines, and turned to Harry.

"Sir," he began, causing Griphook to snort.

"Just Griphook will do, Mister Potter."

"Alright Griphook, please call me Harry." Griphook again looked momentarily surprised but gestured for Harry to continue. "It's rather a long story."

"I have time," he responded curiously. Few wizards treated the goblins with this amount of respect and fewer still trusted them when in the middle of a crisis. In truth, he was curious about the boy who was featured in the papers alternatively as a hero and a villain. Harry nodded.

"Alright. Well, it all started a few days ago…" Listening attentively, Griphook grabbed a piece of paper and began scribbling notes furiously as Harry gave his life story once more to a total stranger. As the story went on he began growling with rage and plotting a very messy death to a very nasty man.

"…and then Cyrus brought me here, saying we should check up on my finances and everything else really to find out just how much of my life other people have been mucking up." Harry finished and turned his eyes from the ceiling, to which he'd been telling his story, to Griphook, whom he was surprised to find terrifyingly angry. "Umm, Griphook? Are you alright?" The Goblin took a deep breath and forced himself to exact a calmer demeanor.

"Forgive me Harry. It is difficult for Goblins to reproduce and thus children are treated very much like royalty. For one to have been treated so horribly is," he fought to find the right word, "unacceptable".

"Oh. Sorry." Both Cyrus and Griphook gave him a look.

"Don't be stupid, Harry," Cyrus said exasperatedly. "None of this was your fault and you need apologize about nothing." Griphook nodded.

"Lord Greengrass is correct, Harry."

" _Lord_ Greengrass?" Cyrus nodded.

"Indeed. My family is one of the founding twelve of the wizarding government and thus I am the Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Greengrass."

"What were the other houses?" Cyrus smiled.

"There's quite a few, but the one you'll probably find most interesting is Potter."

"Potter? You mean I'm a _Lord_?" Cyrus nodded.

"And a powerful one at that. You see, Harry, the houses are divided up according to how long they've been in creation and active. Ancient and Noble houses have been around at least 250 years, Ancient and Most Noble houses 500 years, Noble and Most Ancient houses 750 years, and finally Most Ancient and Noble houses have been around for over 1000 years. Your heritage suggests you have at least one, if not more, lordships that can be claimed, which is why we're here. Legally all future lords are to be notified or their position at the age of eleven. That you were not is suspicious to say the least. Thus we are here."

"You want him to take a heritage test?"

"Indeed I do."

"Very well." Griphook removed a small silver bowl and dagger from his desk along with a piece of parchment and a quill. He handed the dagger to Harry. "Place three drops of blood into the bowl please." Harry looked questioningly at Cyrus, who just nodded. Sighing, Harry pricked his finger and did as asked. When the last drop fell the quill started writing on its own and Harry's finger healed. "The magic recognizes the blood and determines which houses you're an heir to, which is then written down on that sheet of parchment." After a few moments the quill stopped and Griphook glanced over the contents. Suddenly his eyes grew wide and he stood abruptly.

"Mister Potter-"

"Harry."

"Sorry, Harry, I would like your permission to bring in director Ragnok. I believe he will be interested in these results." Unaware of the shocked look on Cyrus's face, Harry shrugged and nodded.

"Sure, why not." Griphook grabbed the parchment and bustled out the door, shouting something in gobbledygook. A few minutes later he returned with an older goblin, if the white hair on his head was any clue. Both the goblins turned to Harry, who had stood at their arrival.

"Harry, this is director Ragnok. Director, this is Harry Potter."

"Greeting, Mister Potter."

"Please, sir, call me Harry." The goblins exchanged significant looks and then faced their guests.

"Very well, but only if you call me Ragnok." Glancing strangely at Cyrus as he made a weird choking noise Harry slowly sat back down.

"So what was so odd about my results?"

"Mist-Harry, your results weren't exactly odd, they were more…surprising." Slowly he pushed the piece of parchment across the desk so the wizards could read it.

 **Name: Harry James Potter**

 **Born: July 31st, 1982**

 **Father: James Charles Potter**

 **Mother: Lily Potter nee Evans**

 **Status: adult**

 **Titles: Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble Houses of Potter (by Paternal blood), Black (by blood and will), Peverell (by Paternal blood), Gryffindor (by Paternal blood), Ravenclaw (by Maternal blood), and Slytherin (by conquest).**

 **Total Vault Holdings: Coins- 270,522,008 galleons, 13 sickles**

 **Other- 1,639,119 galleons worth of art, books, artifacts, etc.**

 **Real Estate: Potter Manor (destroyed), Hogwarts (3/4), 12 Grimmauld Place, the Shrieking Shack.**

"Wow," Harry said after five minutes of silence. It was the only thing he could come up with at the moment. "That's…a lot of money."

"Money? Money?! Harry, don't you realize how important this is? No, of course you don't, that stupid old man made sure your education was sorely lacking. Well, to inform you, Harry, you'll need a bit of a history lesson. You see, the twelve Most Ancient and Noble Houses got together one day and basically put together a wizarding government, which we still use today. These twelve families were Potter, Black, Peverell, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Longbottom, Bones, Emyrs, Pendragon, and Greengrass."

Harry gulped audibly and Cyrus nodded. "Together these twelve families created the Wizengamot, courts, minister, etc., hoping to give the people the right amount of power in their lives. For a while it worked and everything went very well, but they knew it wouldn't last so they put in a loophole.

If the majority of the 12 founding families voted together, they could pass or reject any law in question if they felt it was needed. It was called the founders vote and was only for emergencies. In fact, it's only been used four times in the entirety of the British wizarding world's existence, and all were in times of war. Being the Heir of all these houses gives you not one but _six_ votes. That means if even _one_ person agrees with you, you can do anything. Basically, Harry, you now control the government."

Harry stared at him, astonished, then slowly began to shake his head. "No. No no no no no no no! This is NOT happening to me! I'm just a kid, a boy! What do I know about the bloody government?!"

"Actually, Harry, that's not entirely true," Ragnok began. "You see, only adults are allowed to participate in the Triwizard Tournament. When you were entered there were only two possibilities: you don't compete, or you are declared a legal adult. Since you competed, be it unwillingly, the goblin nation, and even magic itself, recognizes you as a legal adult." Harry put his head in his hands.

"Why me? Why does everything have to happen to me?!" Cyrus put his hand on Harry's shoulder and gave a comforting squeeze.

"Would you rather it be someone else? Someone with no morals, like Malfoy? Or no confidence, like Mr. Longbottom? Or even one of your friends?" Again Harry shook his head.

"Of course not."

"I know it doesn't seem like it now, but this may be a good thing." Harry snorted.

"Yah? How?" Cyrus smiled.

"You're emancipated, Harry. That means you get to choose where to live." Harry looked up at him, understanding seeping into his eyes. "You never have to go back to the Dursley's again, blood wards or not."

"Blood wards," Ragnok demanded. Griphook nodded solemnly.

"That's not all. In investigating Harry's account we've found several discrepancies. Harry's key has been held by Dumbledore since his infancy and he himself has only visited once, yet there are many withdrawals over the years for not insignificant sums."

"What?" Harry looked shocked. He had expected more secrets being held, maybe even another prophecy. Not theft.

"I'm sorry to say that over the years Dumbledore and Molly Weasley have together taken over one million galleons from the Potter vault." This time Harry had to sit.

"No," he whispered. "No, that can't be. You're wrong! You must be wrong! Mrs. Weasley would never do that to me! Never!" Tears were forming in his eyes but he held them in.

"Never," Ragnok asked softly. "The Weasley's have always been there for you, never once shown a side other than supportive and caring?" Harry opened his mouth, ready to spit another "never", when he stopped, remembering fourth year.

"Was there a withdrawal right before the second task," Harry whispered, praying the next words he would hear would form a denial. But his prayers went unanswered.

"Yes, for ten thousand galleons." A huge amount of money. He'd honestly thought Ron had seen the error of his ways, had realized his stupidity and come back to Harry for his friendship. But it was for the money. A number. He was just a number to Ron. He slumped back in his chair, head hanging low. After a few minutes he was able to speak again.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you," he said hoarsely.

"We quite understand, Mister Potter." Harry found that he lacked the strength to correct him this time. "We are angry as well. The two most serious crimes in the goblin nation are the mistreatment of a child and theft. That you have experience both, and under our nose to boot, is infuriating. We promise we will correct the errors in your vault discrepancies."

"No," Harry said suddenly.

"No? You wish for them to keep the money they stole?"

"They need it more than me. If they had asked I would've given it to them. Why didn't they just ask? Why didn't they trust me?" Harry was dangerously close to crying, yet in his gut a fire was burning, grower hotter and hotter with each revelation.

"I'm afraid we don't know, but if you don't wish for our financial assistance, perhaps we can offer you something else." Harry looked up tiredly.

"You don't owe me anything, you know. None of this was your fault." Ragnok smiled.

"Be that as it may, it would make us feel better if you would take us up on the offer of seeing a goblin healer. We understand your body has suffered much, and the goblins know many healing magics that wizards have lost over the years." Cyrus stepped in at this point, seeing that Harry wasn't thinking clearly.

"That sounds like an excellent idea."

"Very well. Come with me." Numbly Harry followed the Goblins, looking and acting very much like a zombie. Cyrus was beginning to worry about him. Even goblins couldn't help him if his mind snapped, and a man can only take so much stress.

Entering a large, stone chamber filler with beds, Cyrus observed Harry being guided towards an empty bed and examined by an elderly goblin healer. Harry remained unresponsive, but snapped back to awareness when the goblin began to shout angrily.

"What is it? What's wrong?" The goblin ignored him, continuing to yell angrily at Ragnok who seemed to be growing angrier and angrier. Harry had a feeling that what he'd discovered so far was the tip of the iceberg and that things were about to get much, much worse. After a few minutes Ragnok barked out some orders, visibly collected himself, and turned to Harry.

"Mister Potter," he began, "please come with me." Without another word he turned away and strode out. Harry and Cyrus shared an uncertain look and then followed along. They found themselves in a much more ornate office with cathedral ceilings and mahogany paneling. It looked both expensive and official, but not in an intimidating way. A large desk that stood five feet tall and eight feet wide was placed in the middle of the back of the room. In front were two wooden chairs that were dwarfed by the desk.

Ragnok, who must have had a small set of stairs or a ladder or something in order to reach the chair behind the desk, gestured for them to sit. He still looked quite angry and kept glancing between a series of scrolls on his desk. After a moment he picked one up, looked at Harry, and called out an order. A goblin immediately appeared with a tea service and a small vial full of a yellow liquid.

"I believe it would be best if you took a calming draught before I gave you the results of your scan." The feeling of dread in his gut deepened and he thought of refusing.

"It can't hurt to take it," Cyrus said quietly. He, too, was growing worried but hid it better than his young charge. Harry nodded after a moment and gulped it down straight out of the vial. The feeling of calm immediately descended upon him and his body relaxed. Ragnok nodded approvingly and pushed a small stack of papers forwards.

"There were many results of the scan we found…unpleasant." Harry was quite sure that 'unpleasant' wasn't the word Ragnok would have preferred to use. "The toll of physical abuse and neglect upon the body was expected, though I quite say we underestimated the extent of the damage. These papers here list all the injuries you've ever had. There are seven of them, all filled to the brim." Cyrus clenched his fists but remained silent. It was worse than he'd expected. Harry just shrugged.

"Next our healer noticed that your magical core has been bound." Cyrus sucked in a breath and Harry tensed. A small thread of anger began to make its way through the haze of the calming draught.

"What do you mean, bound," he said dangerously.

"It is exactly as it sounds. Your magical core has a spell binding it in place and preventing you from accessing it. Currently you're only able to access 25% of your magic." A barrage of questions came out of Harry's mouth.

"Is that legal? How did it happen? Who could have done it? Can it be fixed?" Ragnok held up a weathered green hand and Harry clamped down on his questions.

"Magic binding is legal in only two situations. The first is when an infant shows strong bouts of accidental magic that may be harmful. These are removed on the child's seventh birthday, when they are better able to control their magic. In this case parents must have the approval of a healer, who binds the child's magical core loosely so that once it reaches a certain strength it breaks. It's expected that the child will be much older at this point and will have more control over their magic." Well obviously this wasn't Harry's case. He was much older than seven and still bound.

"The second case is when a wizards magic is completely bound as a punishment for serious crimes. This sentence hasn't been given in over three hundred years." Well, obviously this wasn't Harry's case either. Ragnok soon confirmed his suspicions.

"Neither of these apply to you, therefore the binding of your magic was most certainly not done legally. This is a serious offense, especially in the wizarding world. To be separated from your magic is considered a worse fate than death." Cyrus nodded here.

"In fact," Cyrus added, "it's considered worse than Azkaban or the veil." Neither of them missed Harry's shudder at the mention of the veil but they decided not to mention it. "The Wizengamot argued for over a decade to make it a punishment and historically only 26 people have been sentenced to this fate despite the fact that it's been a legal form of punishment since the 1200's."

"If it's so bad then it must have been Voldemort, right?" Harry was pleased that neither of them flinched at the name, but became worried as Cyrus and Ragnok shared a knowing look and took too long to answer his question. "Right?!"

Who else could have done it if not Voldemort? Despite his grades Harry wasn't stupid. He realized that if only 25% of his magic was available to him then he would be extremely powerful, maybe even more powerful than Voldemort. He felt a sliver of hope well up in his chest- for the first time he actually stood a chance. That is, if it could be undone. But going back to his last train of thought, if his core was large enough to need to be bound, then someone with an equal or greater core would be able to place bindings on his own core. Someone like…

"Dumbledore," Harry whispered. It all made sense. Dumbledore had been 'testing' him all along, what with the stone and basilisk and Sirius and the tournament and Umbridge… it was all too much to be a coincidence. But despite all he'd done, Harry had honestly thought Dumbledore was still on his side, that he must have had a reason for doing what he'd done. But this was the final straw. There was no logical reason to have bound his core, it would only prevent him from killing Voldemort. This had been a direct attack against him. But why? It just didn't make any sense.

"We believe so, yes, but there's more." Harry looked at him, waiting for the final piece of the puzzle to surface. He needed to know why, needed to understand. His whole life had been flipped upside down and he was struggling to make sense of it all.

"Our healer discovered in your scar something called a Horcrux." He spat the word horcrux as if it tasted unpleasant on his tongue. "It is one of the worst magics ever created and the Goblin Nation has openly fought against it for many centuries. In goblin law anyone willingly possessing such a foul piece of magic is sentenced to life in the dragon pens and their vaults are automatically confiscated. Anyone creating them is sentenced to death, no matter what species they are."

"What makes it so foul," Cyrus asked curiously. He, like Harry, had never heard of a Horcrux.

"A horcrux is simply a piece of someone's soul. The creation of it involves taking an innocent life and is one of the darkest magics ever created. By performing a ritual a person can literally split his soul in two and place one piece in another, usually nonliving, object. This creates the illusion of immortality, for if the body of the wizard is destroyed, half his soul still lives. His spirit can return, find a new body, and live again." Oh. Oh no.

"Voldemort. It's Voldemort's." Ragnok nodded solemnly.

"We believe so, yes." Cyrus looked horrified.

"Wait, so half of you-know-who's soul is in Harry's head?" Ragnok shook his head.

"No. That is what makes this case so repulsive. In your head, Harry, is only 36/921659 of Voldemort's soul, leaving him with only 83⁄1062468 of his original soul. This means that he didn't create just once horcrux, but seven."

A piece of Voldemort's soul was in his head. For a few moments Harry didn't know how he felt about that, and then the panic descended. A piece of Voldemort's _soul_ was in his _head!_ What did that mean, for either of them? Was he turning into Voldemort? Or turning dark? Is that why he got the visions? Would it kill him? Would he survive?

The word 'survive' served as a trigger and suddenly Harry understood. He knew. He knew _everything._ The prophecy is why Voldemort had attacked him as a baby, but somehow instead of killing Harry he'd destroyed his own body and created a seventh horcrux- Harry.

 _For neither can live while the other survives._ It was this line of the prophecy that led Dumbledore to bind his magic. He didn't want Harry to win, he wanted Harry to _die._ He needed to kill all of Voldemort, including the piece in Harry, so he'd bound Harry's magic, sent him to the Dursleys, and continuously lured him into dangerous situations. He wasn't "Dumbledore's golden boy", he was a liability.

A hand on his shoulder brought him back to reality. Cyrus was kneeling in front of him, looking him directly in the eyes. "It's okay, Harry. It'll be okay. We can get it out." He turned to Ragnok. "We can get it out, right?" Ragnok nodded.

"We have a cleansing ritual that will remove both it and the block on Harry's magic. It will also heal his body and allow him to grow as much as he would have in a healthy environment. In short, it will fix everything." Hope flared brightly inside Harry, but Ragnok held up his hand in caution.

"I must warn you that it will change everything, not just those particular parts of you. You see, your magic isn't just a thing inside of you, it's a part of your very being. In every cell in our body there is a drop of magic that affects everything from your muscles to your thought process. This ritual would be changing a large part of your magic, which has been bound and degraded for so long that the effects could be…immense. In short, the Harry going into the ritual would be nothing like the Harry coming out."

A different Harry? Did he want to be different? Or, better yet, did he want to stay the same? The same boy who was beaten by the Dursleys, manipulated by an old man, saw the death of his godfather, and had a best friend who was only in it for the money? The same boy who dressed in rags and was alternatively worshipped and then despised by the public?

No. In fact, he could think of nothing about this version of himself he actually wanted to keep, other than the help of the Greengrasses and the goblins. But those two things just didn't outweigh the pros of the procedure. It was possible that when he came out he would still have those alliances, but he'd rather lose them and the soul fragment than keep them both.

Harry looked at Ragnok's solemn face, then at Cyrus's worried one. "I'll do it."


	6. Harry 2 Pt 0

Harry was led to the doorway of a circular stone room fifteen feet in diameter. It was empty save a rectangular stone slab approximately 6' x 2' x 2'. The slab was covered in symbols that had been carved into the stone and, Harry noticed as he looked closer, the entire room save seven small circles at various points in the room. The ceiling was domed and the walls must have been a solid foot thick of gray slate. It would have been boring save the atmosphere of magical power that raised the hairs on the back of Harry's neck.

His examination was cut short by a goblin healer thrusting something into his hands and barking the order, "put this on and nothing else". Examining the plain white cotton robe in his hand, Harry shrugged and did as he was told. After he was changed he folded up the clothes he'd borrowed from Cyrus and turned to the man in question.

Cyrus looked like he was very worried and very much not trying to show it. He meet Harry's eyes as he took the clothing from him and nodded seriously. Harry nodded back, a part of his mind noting that he'd never received a nod that held so much more meaning than a simple nod. His heart warmed a little as he realized that this man who barely knew him had not only helped save his life, but actually _cared_ for him. He focused on that feeling for a moment, reveling in it, then pushed it away. This was no time for sentimentality. Silently, he turned and entered the chamber.

In any other situation Cyrus might have laughed at the image of Harry Potter in a flowing white gown walking with seven goblin healers in his wake, very much like ducklings following their mother. However, this wasn't a humorous situation.

Cyrus had heard of the cleansing ritual Harry was about to undergo. In about 50% of cases, the magic actually backfired, resulting in injuries and/or death. In another 25% of the cases the magic deemed the participant unworthy and didn't work at all. Finally, the few successful cases that he'd heard about had been used on much less dark and powerful magic as Harry had. Typically it involved breaking a curse or binding, not removing a piece of soul.

If he had more time and sway he might have persuaded Harry to wait to find a safer alternative, but he'd responded so quickly and surely that Cyrus had hesitated. After all, he was unsure if there _was_ a safer alternative. So in the end he had simply decided to stay out of support and yes, curiosity.

The goblins had set up part of the wall so it acted as a one way mirror. Visitors could see in, but the participant could not see out. Somehow this magic didn't interfere with the ritual, but how it actually worked Cyrus wasn't sure. The goblins kept many secrets from wizards, which, thinking about their recent discussion of horcruxes, Cyrus believed might be for the best.

Turning his thoughts back to the matter at hand, Cyrus took a seat and stared intensely into the window of chamber he could see.

Harry lay on the stone slab looking rather nervous, though Cyrus thought he hid it rather well. The seven healers stood on the seven symbol-free circles, forming a circle around Harry. One goblin raised his hand and dropped it, and together the seven healers began to chant.

Being in gobbledygook, Cyrus couldn't understand exactly what was being said, but it seemed to be having some kind of effect, though whether it was good or bad he couldn't say. As soon as the chant had begun Harry had gone rigid, doing an excellent impersonation of a wooden board. About thirty second in his body had arched and he let out of guttural scream. Cyrus's hands were clenched so tightly onto the arms of his chair that he was sure they would leave permanent marks.

After another thirty seconds of this something odd began to happen. A soft glow began to surround Harry and his body began to lift slightly, coming to a rest two inches above solid stone. He was literally floating on magic. The glow became brighter and brighter still, until Cyrus had to look away. Then all hell broke loose.

A pulse of magic so strong that the workers in the dragon pens felt it several stories below came out of the room and blew Cyrus out of his chair. Smoke and stone dust poured out of the room, making it impossible to see within. Ragnok, who had watched the ritual with him, barked an order and several goblins rushed forwards, sending spells that cleared the room of smoke. Slowly the chamber became visible again and Cyrus was able to witness the damage inflicted.

Surprisingly the chamber was still standing. Small chunks of stone lay here and there, but the symbols were still whole and pulsing strongly with magic. In fact, they pulsed so strongly that they emitted a soft golden glow, highlighting the room and its inhabitants.

Said inhabitants were currently strewn across the floor, unconscious (or so Cyrus hoped). The exception to this was Harry, who lay on the unaffected stone slab, still glowing softly. Ragnok barked another order and several more healers emerged.

For the benefit of his guest, Ragnok spoke to them in English. "What in Bain's name happened?!" A wizened old goblin that had been watching with them strode forward and peered inside. After a few moments he turned to them, face scrunched up in deep thought.

"I have a theory," he said at last in a calm voice.

Ragnok, however, was not so calm. "Would you care to share, your highness? Oh wait, you're not his highness, I am. SO TELL ME WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!" The old goblin seemed unaffected by his outburst and pondered for several more moments before responding.

"You say his magic was bound, correct?" Cyrus and Ragnok both nodded affirmatively. "Hmmm, it is as I thought." Ragnok looked close to murder at this point but visibly collected himself. Cyrus could have sworn he heard the leader of the goblin nation counted to ten under his breath.

"And what is it that you thought," he asked with exaggerated patience. The healer smiled at him as if rewarding him for his changed demeanor. Then his face became more serious and his voice took on an official tone.

"Young Mr. Potter, or is it lord now? No matter. Mr. Potter had two problems being addressed in the ritual, a binding of his magic and the presence of a soul piece. Now, it is not the healers who decide what to address first, but the chamber itself. I believe that the chamber first took on the challenge of removing the blocks on Mr. Potter's magical core.

Normally this wouldn't have been a problem but Mr. Potter here is far from normal. It is my belief, and we will soon be able to confirm this, that instead of suffocating his magical core as bindings are ought to do and turning him into a squib, somehow the bindings created a container that provided a safe place for his magic to grow.

You see, magical bindings of the core are like building a brick wall around a column of magic. Normally the walls would section off the magic and it would die, but in this case it actually protected the magic from outside interference. For this reason Mr. Potter's magic had been able to grow unhindered for the last, oh, fourteen years we'll say, though a more accurate time could be provided if we knew exactly when the bindings were applied. Anyway, the exact timing is irrelevant. All that matters is that Mr. Potter had a huge, untapped source of magical energy within him and the chamber weakened the bonds holding it in place.

Once the walls were weakened to a certain degree, the contents of the 'room', that is, the magic itself, was able to break the rest of the bonds and exit. Except, in this case the exit was more of an explosion, as I'm sure you noticed. This is what caused the healers to be rendered into their current state. Have no fear, they should wake within the hour."

"But if the magic finally got out, why is he still glowing?"

"Your magic isn't just some dead thing inside of you, it is a living, breathing part of your very being. In this case, the magic and the being were separated for over a decade. Simply put, the two items are reuniting. His body is readjusting to the new levels of magic, and his magic is incorporating itself back into his body. I think you'll find that once it's done, Mr. Potter will be a changed man, and not entirely in a physical sense, though that will be most prominent."

"What about the soul fragment," Ragnok demanded. The healer shrugged but gave a knowing smile.

"We won't know for sure until we can run a scan, but I would imagine that the same explosion that removed you from your seats also removed the fragment. The added power of the magic replenishing the body also probably helped."

"When can you get in to run a scan," Cyrus asked anxiously.

"The symbols in the chamber aren't just for show, they also have a purpose. They serve to absorb excess energy in the room and then channel it to the healers and the participant. Once the symbols and stone have absorbed all they can, the chamber will allow us access. At this time we will be able to remove the healers. Mr. Potter, however, will have to stay until his magic allows us access to him." Seeing Cyrus's confusion, he explained further.

"Your magic functions very much like a warrior, keeping your body safe from harm. This can include fighting off the flu, healing up a bruise, or even helping you fall slowly if you fall out a window, like in the cases of accidental magic we see in children. When Mr. Potter's magic returned to him it immediately searched his body for any problems and attempted to fix them. Because it is such a large amount of magic, I am reasonably sure that if the soul fragment was not already gone, it would be removed in this step anyway. On top of this, any physical damage Mr. Potter has suffered would be undone. Bones would heal, strengthen, and even lengthen depending on the amount of damage and the strength of the core.

"In answer to your question, we cannot touch Mr. Potter just yet as his magic is currently in warrior mode and would see us as an attacking enemy. It would probably be especially unforgiving given all the damage he has suffered."

As he finished his explanation the chamber door opened with a hiss and three more goblins rushed in, running around in circles and checking on the healers. Cyrus made as if to go forwards but was stopped by Ragnok.

"Best to let them remove the healers first. There's nothing we can do for Harry right now anyway." Cyrus hesitated for a moment but had to bow down to the logic in that statement. He nodded and stepped back.

It took the goblins ten minutes to have all the healers removed to the infirmary which was very handily situated right next door. As the last one stepped out Harry began to glow even brighter and the chamber sealed itself once more.

"What's going on," Cyrus asked the elderly healer who'd explained the situation before.

"Hmm. Interesting." Thankfully his musing was much shorter than last time. "It's likely his magic sensed all current threats leave and ensured his safety for the reintegration process."

"Reintegration process?"

"The process of his magic realigning with his body and his core stabilizing."

"I thought it was already doing that."

"So did I, but it appears that it just finished its body scan and is now reintegrating. For normal wizards this doesn't take more than a few minutes, but for someone as powerful as Mr. Potter, you could be waiting quite a while."

And it was indeed quite a while before the chamber unsealed itself once more. Almost an hour, in fact. This time when the door opened there was no glow inside. In fact, it was pitch dark.

"He's sucked all the magic back into himself," Ragnok said in awe. Cyrus shared his awe- there must have been enough magic for three other wizards in that room. If Harry had actually absorbed it, he would be powerful indeed. More powerful than Dumbledore and, most importantly, Voldemort.

He crept cautiously towards where he knew the slab to be and slowly a dark shape came into focus. Harry was still there on the slab, but something was different. He hadn't quite figured it out when Harry's eyes snapped open, causing him to jump back and gasp. Those eyes he had seen before, but not like this. These were filled with power, so much so that they glowed.

Glowing green eyes met soft blue ones aggressively and Cyrus held his breath, praying that the ritual hadn't changed Harry too much, hadn't turned him dark. He exhaled in relief when they took on the curious yet determined look that he had come to recognize. This was still Harry.

"Did it work," Harry asked in a voice that wasn't quite his own. It held the same inflections, accents, and pronunciations, yes, but was an octave deeper than usual. "Whoa."

Cyrus glanced up at his clear forehead, which held no traces of his famous scar, and grinned. "I think so." Harry grinned back at him and sat up. Standing, he wobbled a bit and grabbed Cyrus's shoulder for support.

"Whoa. I feel weird." The elderly goblin healer stepped forwards and held out a hand, mumbling what Cyrus assumed were healing scans.

"Hmm. Well, you're perfectly healthy, Mr. Potter. In fact, you're the epitome of perfect health, magic unbound, only one piece of soul, your own, and great physical shape. The weirdness you're feeling is probably due to the new characteristics your body has acquired."

"Which are?" The healer summoned a full length mirror and held it in front of his patient, who gasped in surprise.

"Whoa." Harry didn't recognize the man in the mirror. Before he had stood a simple 5'7", weighed a meager 120 lbs, and looked as bad as he felt. To summarize, he had looked like a weak little boy trying to do a man's job. Now, though, he looked like a man.

Somehow, Harry wasn't sure on the specifics, he had managed to grow five inches and put on some weight. He now stood a strong 6'0" and weighed 180 lbs. The best part was that the weight was mostly muscle. As he admired himself he heard the healer explain that his body reflected the state of his magic, which had gone from haggard to powerful and healthy.

He was currently feeling fantastic, like nothing could stop him, but the healer assured that once his magic calmed a little he would "feel the consequences of putting his body through such drastic changes". Honestly, he couldn't care less. It was worth it.

Continuing his examination he also found that his face had changed a little. His jaw was a bit stronger, his scar was gone, and his eyes were literally glowing. He'd have to work on that, it might make people uncomfortable. Then again, they tended to deserve it. Maybe he'd keep them.

As he leaned in to examine his eyes more he realized that despite his glasses being in Cyrus's pocket, he could see everything quite clearly. "Whoa." He knew he'd been overusing the word, but really, what else was there to say?

"Whoa indeed, Mr. Potter," the healer said with a smile. Harry stuck out his hand.

"Call me Harry." The healer looked surprised for a moment, then gave a barking laugh.

"My, I haven't had this much fun since the clerks had a fire whiskey contest in '69." After he recovered, he said, "Hello Harry, I'm very pleased to meet you. Please, call me Doc." At this name Ragnok rolled his eyes.

"He got his hands on some muggle magazines and hasn't stopped with the name thing since."

"True, brother, but we both know you enjoyed them as much as I." Ragnok scowled at him but didn't argue the fact.

"You guys are brothers," Harry asked, surprised. Doc nodded.

"Twins, in fact. I'm the oldest, as you can clearly see," at this he exaggeratedly puffed out his chest and stood slightly higher. Ragnok rolled his eyes again, a surprisingly human reaction.

"Forgive my idiot brother here, though he was blessed enough to see the world first, most of the brains were passed on to me." Doc laughed at this. It seemed nothing could ruffle his calm.

"Oh really? I remember that time in the caves of Drogden with that girl, what was her name again?"

"Enough," Ragnok barked roughly, clearly embarrassed. "We have other matters to discuss. Doc nodded seriously, or as seriously as he could manage.

"Indeed, brother of mine. May your vaults overflow and your enemies fall." The two nodded to each other and then Doc turned away. "It was a pleasure to meet you both," he said to Cyrus and Harry. "Somehow I have a feeling we'll meet again, so I won't waste much time with goodbyes. For what it's worth, you may call on me if you need me, and good luck." With a final nod he was off down the corridor, leaving Harry and Cyrus alone with Ragnok and his guard.

Ragnok sighed. "I hope you won't need to see him again, but something tells me it's of no use to think so." Harry gave a wry smile but didn't comment. Cyrus just clapped Harry on the back. "If you are feeling recovered enough, there are a few more matters to be taken care of." At Harry's nod they walked back to Ragnok's office, which seemed much more welcoming this time around.

As soon as they were settled in and had some tea Ragnok spoke again. "There are several more matters to attend to, none of which can wait, I'm afraid. Are you feeling up to it," he asked Harry. Harry grinned and nodded.

"I don't think it gets much worse than a soul fragment stuck in my head or the only people I've ever trusted conspiring to kill me," he said cheerfully. Cyrus had to admit that this was true, though Harry seemed to be taking things much better than he'd expected.

Ragnok must have been thinking the same lines because he commented, "You're taking this awfully well." Harry grinned again.

I feel like there's this big weight that's been lifted off my chest. Yes, there are some problems to be taken care of, but at least I know about them and can actually do something. To be honest, I'm actually excited. I can't wait to go back to Hogwarts." His grin turned positively feral at this and Cyrus found himself grinning as well.

"I can't wait to see that."

"Well, good sir," Harry said in an exaggeratedly formal accent, "since you have been of such great service to His Lordship, I shall personally see that you get front row seats."

Playing along, Cyrus gave a bow from his chair. "Why thank you good sir. His Lordship is most generous."

Harry nodded imperially. "Indeed."

"Ahem," Ragnok said, bringing the attention of the silly wizards back to him. "As happy as I am to hear that, I must point out that you are not technically a lord yet." Harry frowned at this.

"But I thought the heritage test said that-"

"The heritage test is just that, a test. It simply states a fact, nothing more, nothing less. In to become a lord you must formally accept those positions."

"Okay, so how do I do that?"

"There are two steps. The first is to repeat what I have written down here aloud," he thrust a scrap of parchment at him, "and the second is to claim the house ring, or, in your case, rings." Harry looked at Cyrus questioningly, who nodded.

"It's quite simply, really, rather a technicality in the long run, but you need to do it so that magic formally recognizes your claim. No one but you, Ragnok, Griphook and I will know of your status until you choose to tell them. On top of that, the benefits will be tremendous."

"What kind of benefits?"

"Well, we've discussed how political power and the founders vote, but not what can be done with those. Given your status, you'll be able to do practically anything. You can use this against both Dumbledore and Lord Voldemort."

"I hadn't thought of that," Harry mused. If he could get the government on his side things would certainly be a lot easier.

"We'll have to be careful how much power we choose to use at first. We don't want to cause a mutiny. Still, I think most people will understand, and those that don't won't have much say anyway." Harry nodded in understanding. "On top of this, you will be officially emancipated, allowing you to perform underage magic and apparition."

"Right, sounds good. What's the catch?"

"Being a lord isn't just a title, it's a responsibility. You'll have properties and finances to manage, charities to donate to, public events to attend, the news to regulate, and, eventually, a family to lead. If you're going to accept the title you'll also have to be prepared for all that comes with it, and once you accept there's no going back," Cyrus warned gravely.

Harry thought things over for a while. It sounded like a significant amount of work, true, but he could always hire some people to help. Plus, the pros far outweighed the cons. The political power would free him from Dumbledore's grasp and allow him another tool to use against Voldemort. In his mind, it was worth it.

He picked up the parchment and said in a clear voice, "I, Harry James Potter, hereby claim the titles of Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter, Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black, Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Peverell, Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Gryffindor, Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Slytherin, and Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Ravenclaw as is my right by blood, law, and conquest. So mote it be." A golden flash burst forth from his hands and the parchment disintegrated.

He looked at Ragnok, who was nodding approvingly. "Excellent, it appears that magic has accepted your claim. To be sure you'll need to put on the house rings." He pushes forward a jewels rack that held six rings of varying colors.

His eye was first drawn to a gold band with a large circular ruby centered in the stone. A griffin was carved into the band on each side of the stone and the words _The Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter_ was etched around the ring, beginning and ending at the Griffins. Harry slipped it onto his right middle finger and watched as the stone glowed shortly and the ring resized to fit his finger. Once it stopped he felt a rush of familiar magic flow through his body, settling after a moment to a gentle thrum in the background. He smiled fondly at it, trying to imagine his father going through the same process.

After a moment he reached for the next ring, a rigidly cut bone white band, in fact, the band may actually have been made from bone, with a pure black onyx stone in the shape of a skull. The words _The Most Ancient and Noble House of Black_ were etched in a similar fashion as the Potter ring, though the writing was more rugged. Harry screwed up his face in distaste. It's no wonder Sirius had hated his family.

Still, it was part of who he was, and he'd already accepted the Lordship anyway. He slid the ring onto the same finger, bringing it to rest just next to the Potter ring. There was a soft white glow from both rings and yet another rush of magic, this one a bit edgier and more forceful. Harry pushed at it for a minute until it finally submitted. The black skull formed a grin and pulsed briefly. Apparently he'd passed some sort of test.

On his right ring finger he placed the Peverell ring, which was silver with a milky blue, square stone. One the stone a symbol was burned into it, a triangle surrounding a circle with a line through its middle. This ring was older and held only the word _Peverell_ on the bottom. It resized and tightened suddenly. He sent a strand of his magic down to it and it relaxed upon recognition of its heir. Again he felt a new pulse of magic, this one mixing with the others in contentment.

On his left middle finger he placed both the Gryffindor and Slytherin rings. Like the Peverell ring, these held only the family name. Gryffindor's was white gold with a roaring golden lion in the middle. Its eye and claws were rubies and the name _Gryffindor_ was written in the same gold as the lion. Slytherin's was silver with a large circular emerald. Silver snakes with emerald eyes braced each side of the stone, and their tails formed the word _Slytherin_.

Surprisingly neither of these required a test, and each gave him a gift. As soon as he put them on the lion roared and the snakes hissed in glee. A flood of strong energy came from the Gryffindor ring and pooled throughout his body, providing extra energy. Slytherin's gift was the knowledge of his chamber which, Harry was surprised to see, held several more rooms than the main atrium he'd been in before. He vowed to explore when he returned to school. Though both magics felt very different, they didn't oppose one another as he'd suspected, but wound around each other and joined his growing collection.

Finally he placed the Ravenclaw ring on his left ring finger. This one was a polished bronze with tiny blue eagles painted around the entire band. _Ravenclaw_ stood on top, formed by soft blue feathers. As he slipped the ring on the birds began to fly about and the feathered letters shimmered. This one, too, gave him knowledge of a secret chamber, this one belonging to Ravenclaw herself. Her magic joined all the others in a magical dance throughout his body before slowly sinking to the background, there but not obvious.

He looked up at Ragnok and nodded. Then he turned to Cyrus. "When you took your ring, did it give you more magic, too?" He nodded.

"Yes, the magic in the ring is the family magic. In my case it was ward knowledge. In yours it may be many things, though I heard the Potter's was offensive magic and Black's was some physical talent." Harry thought of Tonks and grinned. It would be really cool if the ring gave him the metamorphmagus talent.

"Do all rings give a gift," he asked curiously. Cyrus nodded again.

"Yes, it's tradition for the founder to create a gift, usually knowledge, and then for their heirs to add to it. Typically, the older the ring, the greater the gift, though in your case I'm not sure as there haven't been any claimed heirs of Ravenclaw, Slytherin, Gryffindor, or Peverell in many generations."

"Didn't my dad claim the Gryffindor line?"

Ragnok shook his head. "No, he was unaware of his full heritage. So were we, come to think of it. Only heritage tests give the full lineage, but these are exceptionally rare. We perform perhaps three total in each century."

"Why so few?" Ragnok shrugged.

"Wizards are either unaware we offer it or too stupid to come get it done. It is also rather expensive and most of the general population wouldn't find anything, anyway."

"Was that all for today," Cyrus asked politely. "We're meeting my family for lunch soon."

"There is one more matter I wish to discuss, but after that everything can wait or be done quickly. In fact, I'll have someone get your things ready as we speak."

"What things?"

"Your keys, papers, financial reports, listings, etc. You may also be interesting in getting a Gringotts card, which can be used in both the wizard and muggle worlds."

"Sure, that sounds great."

"There's a five galleon fee but I believe that will be waived, depending on the results of our next discussion." Harry and Cyrus looked at him curiously and he sat back, folding his hands in his lap.

"You, Mr. Potter, are an enigma." Harry opened his mouth to protest but Ragnok cut him off. "That is not necessarily a bad thing, it is merely an observation. You are, indeed, an enigma, but I believe this will be to your benefit, as well as ours.

You see, Harry, goblins and wizards do not generally get along. They believe us to be inferior beings and have attempted to cast us down and control us for many centuries. We, in turn, resent them for this and tend to react poorly to their presence. For this reason our two societies were separated many years ago and have remained separate to this day.

When the compromise was first reached it was thought that separating the two races would allow them to better tolerate each other and live happier lives, but sadly the opposite occurred. Wizards were able to restrict goblin land and this made them feel superior. The goblins in turn resented them for this restriction. These two opinions have grown and festered over the years and goblin-wizard relations are at an all-time low.

Then you, Harry Potter, savior of the wizarding world, walk in and not only recognize a goblin, but greet him by name. That never happens; wizards see us as all alike, much like vermin. Then you ask politely to meet with him, state the problem, and ask if we can help. No one ever _asks_ for our help, they _demand_ it. Next we discover you hold an extraordinary amount of power and yet, despite this change, your attitude remains the same. Finally, you help us discover the breaking of one of our greatest laws and let us help." Harry opened his mouth again but Ragnok held up a hand.

"I know you do not see this as important, but that, Harry, is precisely why it is so." Harry thought for a moment, then nodded slowly in understanding. "Because of this, I would like to offer you the status of Friend of the Goblin Nation." Wait, he wanted to be Harry's friend?

"Um, sure Ragnok, I'd love to be your friend." At this Ragnok burst out laughing and Cyrus slapped his face into his palm.

"Harry," Cyrus said, obviously struggling to stay in control of his excitement, "that isn't what he was asking. Being a Friend of the Goblin Nation basically means that you're treated the same as any goblin by them. This means lower bank rates, access to their library and schools and such, political power, and so much more. It's a very big deal. There hasn't been a Friend to the Goblin Nation since … the Flamels, I believe, when they were still in there first decade of life." Harry blushed, suddenly embarrassed by how stupid he must have sounded.

"So, er, what does it require in return," he asked, trying to get the situation back under control.

"It doesn't. That's the thing Harry, all you have to do is keep being yourself, but the benefits will just be enormous. First and foremost is that they'll help you get rid of any remaining horcruxes." Ragnok snarled at the word.

"We would do so anyway, as they are abominations to all life, but Lord Greengrass is very much correct in his statement. We are willing to help you simply because you treat us like living beings and not like vermin."

"Oh, well, then I'd love to. I mean, I accept. I mean, er-" Cyrus shook his head again.

"I believe we shall be starting lessons with you immediately, Harry," he said exasperatedly. "Lords do not say 'er.'" Harry swore he must look like a tomato, what with how red his face was.

"As Friend to the Goblin Nation we are also willing to give lessons, both in history and in warrior training, which consists of things like sword fighting, magical dueling, and physical fighting." Harry perked up at those words.

"That would be wonderful," he said graciously. "I accept and give my uttermost thanks." Then he turned to Cyrus. "Was that better?" Cyrus grinned.

"Still needs work, but you're getting there." Just then there was a knock and in walked Griphook with a mountain of paperwork in his hands. Harry jumped up to help him, then stumbled under the weight.

"Thank you Harry that was most kind of you. Those folders in your hands are all your financial records of all your houses. You'll need to go through them and get the estates into shape." Harry looked at the pile of paperwork in horror; it was almost as tall as him!

"Isn't there somebody I could pay to do this? Like a financial advisor? Do they have those in the wizarding world?" Griphook chuckled.

"Indeed they do, Harry, and I imagine any goblin brave enough to tackle that mound will be reimbursed quite well."

"Will you do it," he asked all of the sudden. Griphook looked shocked.

"Me? I'm not nearly high enough ranked to qualify for that position. It takes decades to work that high."

"Well, do you want to do that eventually?" Griphook nodded eagerly.

"Of course, it is all the clerks' greatest wish to be top financial advisor."

"Well then, call me fairy godmother because your wish has just been granted." Harry grinned at him and shoved the paperwork back at him. Griphook caught it, still staring at him incredulously.

"It really isn't proper," he stuttered, obviously pleased but afraid.

"I'll pay you 5% of whatever you manage." Griphook's eyes widened even further.

"5%! That's too much given your worth! Why, it's almost-"

"Well, considering I have more money than god right now, I doubt I'll really miss it. Call it motivation, if you will. If it's really too much, take 3% for yourself and the other 2% for the goblin nation in general."

Ragnok stepped in then, obviously not wanting to lose such a big deal. "We accept, how did you put it earlier, ah, yes, with our uttermost thanks. I can tell doing business with you is going to be a real pleasure," he said with a toothy grin. Harry grinned back at him.

"I sure hope so."


	7. Shopping

By the time they left Gringotts it was almost noon and Harry was starving. Cyrus heard his stomach growl and chuckled. "I'm not surprised you're hungry given all that's happened. Come on, I told the girls we'd meet them for lunch." He led them to a small pub where they found the Greengrass girls sitting at a corner booth.

"Hello beautiful," Cyrus said to his wife, sliding in next to her and giving her a kiss. Daphne rolled her eyes at this and Astoria went "ewwww!" Evelyn just laughed and turned to Harry, gasping as her eyes found him.

"Harry?" He grinned at her surprise and nodded. "Merlin! You look amazing!" Curious, Astoria and Daphne turned to look at him.

"Wow Harry! You're a hunk!" Astoria giggled at her own antics and hopped up to give him a hug. "How'd you get so big?"

Harry grinned down at her. "That's a long story, and I'm starved. Let's talk over lunch, my treat."

"Oh no dear, we couldn't-"

"Evelyn, trust me on this, it won't even make a dent in my funds. Consider it a thank you for all your help."

"Why, you're welcome, dear, but whatever do you mean?"

"I think we'd all like to know that," Daphne drawled, her ice queen mask firmly in place. Harry just grinned at her, not missing the flicker of surprise in her eyes before her mask slid more firmly into place.

"Well, it goes something like this…"

By the time he'd finished both his cheeseburgers and his story, Evelyn was hugging him hard enough to break a rib, Astoria was gaping at him, and Daphne had both eyebrows raised, which he assumed was a large break in character for her.

"So let me get this right," Eve said over dessert. "You've claimed the title Lord Potter Black Peverell Gryffindor Slytherin Ravenclaw, have the funds to match the titles, grew five inches, gained sixty pounds, most of it muscle, removed a soul fragment and a block on your magic, were awarded friend status to the goblins, and are officially emancipated, and all of this happened in under four hours?" Cyrus shrugged nonchalantly.

"I think that's all of it," he said, causing his wife to glare at him.

"So what will you do next," Daphne asked, hoping to head off one of her mother's notorious ranting sessions. Some days she could be worse than Mrs. Weasley.

"Well, I'm not really sure. I need lessons in pretty much everything, so that'll be on the top of my list. I need to take care of Dumbledore, and, of course, Voldemort, but I'm not really sure how. The goblins are taking care of horcruxes, so at least that's something. Oh, and I should probably go shopping."

All three women's heads snapped up at this point and Cyrus's eyes grew wide in horror. "Harry," he whispered, "you've just spoken the "s" word." Harry, seeing the expressions of the women, began to grow nervous.

"Um, well, maybe it could wait-" his statement was interrupted as he was yanked bodily out of his chair. With Astoria on one arm, Evelyn on the other, and Daphne in the rear, Harry was quite literally dragged out of the restaurant and into the alley.

"Poor boy," Cyrus muttered, shaking his head in sympathy as he threw down a tip. "He's doomed." Shrugging, he took the floo back home, glad to have escaped so easily.

Poor boy, indeed. The first place he was dragged to, quite literally, was a simple second floor store he'd never been to. Labeled 'Simeon's' it proved to be a clothing store. Cloaks and gowns were hung neatly on silver racks and mirrors on the walls added to the colorful interior. Glancing at a dark blue cloak, he noticed there was no price tag.

When he said something, Astoria rolled her eyes. "The kind of people who shop here don't stop to look at price tags. They see something they want, and they get it." Immediately an image of Malfoy striding through the rows, his nose held snootily in the air, came to mind and he grimaced.

"Is this really necessary? I mean, they're just clothes." Surprisingly it was Daphne who answered him, and without her usually undercurrent of superiority.

"They're not just clothes, though, they're a sign of your station. You are Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble Houses of Potter, Black, Peverell, Slytherin, Gryffindor, and Ravenclaw. Not only do you need to act like it, but you need to dress like it as well."

"But how do robes affect any of that?" She rolled her eyes at this.

"Because people won't take you seriously if you walk into the Wizengamot wearing rags. Money equals power. You have lots of both, and you need to show that you're not afraid to use it."

"Quite right, my dear, quite right." Startled, Harry jumped and reached for his wand, remembering belatedly that he'd left it at the Dursley's. The old man to his left simply chuckled. "No need for that, lad. I'm not here to hurt you, but to clothe you. The name's Simeon."

Simeon was the total opposite of what he'd been expecting. Instead of a buxom blond or cackling witch he instead found a tiny old man, looking to be about seventy, but probably more like 140 thanks to magic, staring up at him through large round spectacles.

"Er, hello Simeon. I'm Harry, Harry Potter."

"But of course," answered the old wizard brazenly. "Who else would you be."

"Uh…"

"Right then, formal robes?" He looked towards Evelyn as he said this, obviously wanting to deal with the person in charge.

She nodded eagerly. "Yes, and casual robes as well. Also, boots, dress shoes, undergarments, sleepwear, and, well, basically a whole new wardrobe." Simeon looked Harry over once and responded with a simple "indeed". Harry scowled, Daphne snorted, Astoria giggled, and Evelyn grinned.

"Any particular colors?"

"Black," Harry put in before Evelyn could get her words out and dress him in something ridiculous like pink. She frowned at him, clearly seeing through his desperate attempts.

"Also green, to match his eyes, dark blue, and hm… silver, do you think?" Simeon nodded wisely.

"Very well, wait here." He bustled off to a back room and returned moments later with so many robes in his arms that Harry couldn't actually see the man's head. "Right then, try these on." Harry gulped audibly.

"All of them?" The girls rolled their eyes at him and Simeon simply frowned. "Nevermind," he mumbled, wrapping his arms around the giant stack and heading towards the changing room.

Three hours later Harry was completely fed up. He had been dressed, undressed, stuck with pins, turned, scolded, forced into contorted poses, smacked, glared at, and complemented so suggestively he had turned red as a cherry, which Daphne had taken great delight in. He swore that if he had to try on one more robe, he was going to lose his grip on his newfound magic and take down the whole city. Luckily, it seemed the girls were finished with their torture and he practically sprinted to the check out, relieved beyond words.

"Excellent, excellent. I'll charge your purchases to your Gringotts account?" Harry nodded. "Very well. Please do remember me when you find your wardrobe needs expansion." Harry very much doubted that that would ever occur after this trip but was wise enough to stay silent; those girls could pack a mean punch and didn't find his comments all that amusing.

"Thanks, I will." Harry lifted his bag, filled with other shrunken bags, and practically flew out the door. The girls rolled their eyes, thanked Simeon warmly, and followed Harry back out into the alley at a much more reasonable pace.

They found him at the quidditch shop, eyeing the latest broom, the thunderbolt. It was made by the same company as his firebolt, but designed differently. Firstly, it was pitch black and had silver clouds and lightning bolts carved into the handle. Second, it was a bit wider at the end, so it would be slower but easier to brake and turn. Third, it was covered in charms, including: warming, anti-summoning, waterproof, cushioning, and weightening (which didn't actually make the broom heavier but made it more stable in the wind). His favorite feature, though, was the speed burst, which brought the bristles tighter together for a period of about thirty seconds, giving the user and extra burst of speed. He was practically drooling.

A slap to the back of the head snapped him out of his zombie-like state. "Ow!" He turned and glared at Daphne, who smirked in return. "What was that for?!" Her grin was pure evil.

"We're not done yet." He paled further and gave significant thought to fleeing. His hopes were dashed when the girls surrounded him, cutting off his escape routes, and dragged him away. He really was doomed.

Their next stop was the store that sold trunks. He ended up picking out the kind that Moody had had, one with a secret room in the bottom. On the outside it was a normal black leather trunk. Inside there were six compartments, each expanded to the size of a walk-in closet. Finally, if he spoke a password and supplied a drop of his blood, the secret room was revealed. It was currently gray and empty and dreary but he could fix that later, when he wasn't surrounded by vicious shopping piranhas. For added security, the entire thing was password protected and fixed with lock and key. He was quite certain no one would be getting into his things this term.

After that they stopped at Flourish and Botts, where Harry bought books on occlumency, legilimency, wizard law, ettique, the 12 Most Ancient and Noble Houses, the history of dark magic, wizard history (because everyone knew Binns was of no help), animagus training, advanced dueling, strategy, offensive and defensive magic, his year six books, and, of course, his own copy of Quidditch through the Ages. He also stocked up on parchment, quills, and ink.

After charging his purchases to his account he and the girls stepped in an alley. While Evelyn and Astoria stood guard, he and Daphne went into his trunk's secret room and put all the books on a hastily transfigured bookshelf. Tossing the bag of bags of robes onto the bottom shelf, he turned to leave.

"What are you doing?" He turned and faced an annoyed Daphne.

"Leaving?" She rolled her eyes.

"Really, Potter, you're more dense than Weasley." He scowled, both at the implication and at the traitor's name. "You can't put something shrunk into something you're going to shrink!"

"Why not," he asked, fighting hard to keep his anger in check.

"Because," she replied, speaking slowly, as if he were a child, "the shrunken things inside, in this case your bags, will unshrink when the shrunken container, the trunk, is shrunk and then bad things happen."

"Why would they unshrink?"

"Because you're magic stops focusing on the bags and turns to the trunk, thus cancelling out the other charm. The only way to make it work is to shrink it down permanently, but then all that shopping would be for naught."

"Oh."

"Oh Indeed. Come on, might as well unpack them while we're here." She transfigured a rock into a wardrobe and started opening bags; Harry followed her lead. Fourteen robes (4 Hogwarts, 1 grey, 1 blue, 1 green, 1 silver, 1 maroon, 2 black, 1 silver lined black dress robe, 1 emerald lined black dress robe, and 1 gold embroidered dress robe), ten pairs of boxers (towards which Daphne's wicked humor was entirely unappreciated by owner of said boxers), 4 sets of sleepwear (2 flannel, 2 silk), dragon hide boots, black leather dress shoes, and a Gryffindor jumper later and they were ready to go.

Reaching the top of the stairs, Harry and Daphne found Evelyn and Astoria chatting away happily. Seeing the two teenagers, Evelyn remarked, "you two were down there an awfully long time." She grinned and asked slyly, "have any fun?"

"Ooooh! Daphne's got a boyfriend, Daphne's got a boyfriend," Astoria sang gleefully. Daphne glared at her sister, then Harry, then her sister again, and so on. Harry, already bright red in embarrassment, shrugged helplessly and began to stammer a denial/apology. Evelyn, who'd been watching the whole scene with amusement, broke out into laughter at this and gave Harry a one-armed hug.

"Don't worry, dear, we were just teasing. I'm sure nothing untoward happened." He nodded emphatically and risked a glance over at Daphne, who was scowling deeply. Seeing Harry's worried look, Evelyn hugged him tighter. "Dont worry, dear," she said quietly. "Her bark is worse than her bite."

"I'll take your word for it," he said nervously. She laughed and released him.

"Very well. Where to next?"

"I need a new wand."

"Hmm, we go to a custom wand maker down in Knockturn alley, but if you want we could try Ollivanders." He shuddered at the thought of the creepy old man who'd told him he would do "great things".

"No thanks, lets go to where you go." She nodded and led the way into the sketchy alley, seemingly not bothered in the least. Harry stayed by her side, attempting to appear unbothered as well and doing a decent job of it. A glance behind him showed that Daphne's mask was firmly in place and Astoria was skipping along, seemingly oblivious to their current whereabouts.

Harry followed Evelyn into a shop a third of the way down the alley on the left. Behind the counter sat a grungy old man who glared at them as they entered. Surrounding him were jars and jars of bugs, all sorts. It was intensely creepy. "Hello Bugsy, we're here to get Lord Potter a new wand. His was lost, I'm afraid." The man's eyes snapped over to Harry, who stood nervously by Evelyn's side.

"Hmph," he said at last. "Some Lord. Looks like 'e'd keel over if I so much as sneezed on 'im." Evelyn mock glared at him.

"Now Bugsy, be kind. He's had a trying day and has only just taken up his title. He couldn't possibly know the proper way to behave just yet." The man called Bugsy grunted noncommittally, then sighed.

"Yeh want a wand, yeh say?" Harry nodded. "Speak up, boy!"

"Yes sir, I'd like a wand." Bugsy nodded.

"Better. Follow me." He stood, revealing a wooden leg and crutch, and hobbled through a back door. The room they entered was small and cramped. Dozens of bookshelves lined the walls and even more stood a few feet from the others, surrounding a small worktable. Jars of various ingredients, very much like the bugs out in the front of the store, were scattered amongst the shelves, along with chunks of rocks, gems, lengths of wood, and things Harry either couldn't or wouldn't identify. It was, in a word, creepy.

"Right then," Bugsy barked, startling Harry out of his observations. "Custom wands ain't like ol' Ollivanders. 'E makes a bunch o' wands and picks the best fit. Custom wands er made specifically for you. They're more powerful, more elaborate, and more expensive. Yeh following so far?"

Harry nodded, then remembered himself and said, "yes, sir."

Bugsy nodded again and turned to the shelves. "This 'ere is a wand core," he said, pointing to a jar full of something slimy and stringy. "Yeh need at least one. This," he said, pointing to a hunk of wood, "is the wand casin'. It's what yeh see. Yeh need one or more o' these as well. Doesn't haf' ta be wood, though. Could be rock or even metal," he gestured to a large green stone and a lump of what looked to be iron. "Finelly, yeh might pick up a power stone." He pointed to one of the gems. "These lil' babies focus yer power. Only stroger wizards need 'em. Both these lil' lassies have 'em." Daphne and Astoria both smirked.

"Erm, how exactly do I pick them?"

"Lords don't say 'erm' boy! Stand up straight, chest out, shoulders strong!" Harry did as asked. "There yeh go! To answer yer question, yeh just know. Go on, walk 'round. You'll see what I mean." He grinned, displaying a mouth full of rotting teeth, and Harry hurried away, glad to be free of the man's gaze.

It was on the fourth book case down, third shelf, when Harry felt a strange pull. Picking up a large emerald, he had a feeling of rightness, like he just knew it was for him. Pocketing the stone, he continued, collecting a jar of silvery fluid, a large cut of black stone, a small square of black fabric, and a vial of what looked to be glitter. When he'd walked the whole room he returned to the workbench and set out all his things.

"Yer an interestin' one, mi'lord. Interestin' indeed." Harry sighed; couldn't he do anything normal? Bugsy continued, ignoring him. "This 'here's obsidian," he said, pointing to the black rock. "An ancient stone used in weapons back 'n the day. Represents power and darkness. Not unusal, 'cept this 'ere is unicorn blood." He was pointing to the silver fluid. "Unicorns 'r' creatures o' light. The blood represents purity and life. These two opposin' materials will make up yer casin'."

"This," he pointed to the black fabric, "Is from the cloak of a dementor." Harry immediately shivered and took a step back. Evelyn put her hand on his shoulder for comfort. "Shows you've a 'ard life behind yeh, too many bad memories, too much darkness. Shows you'll be a cold 'un." Harry swallowed nervously and Evelyns hand tightened. "However," Bugsy added, "this 'ere is fairy powder. A happier bunch don't exist. Fairies are playful and bright, with a good sense o' humor. Suggests you'll be both cold an' warm." Evelyn hand squeezed reassuringly, then relaxed.

"Finally, this 'ere's an emerald. A good power stone, nice 'n' strong, an' it has a large capacity so it can hold lots o' magic. If I can manage, this'll be the most powerful wand made in centuries." Silence fell over the room as each person took in the meaning of his words. "Right," Bugsy said eventually. "Get out."

"Huh?"

"Lords don't say 'huh' boy! I said get out! I've a job teh do! Come back tomorrow. I'll 'ave it for yeh then." With no other words he shoved them out of the back room, slamming the door behind them.

"Well," Harry said at last. "That was odd." Evelyn snorted in amusement and nodded.

"Old Bugsy's an odd one for sure, but he makes fantastic wands. You'll see what I mean tomorrow."

"Okay. So, where to next?"

"I don't know. We've already gotten clothes, books, school supplies, a trunk, and ordered a wand. I can't think of anything else you'll need. What do you think, dear?"

"I was hoping to go into muggle London for a bit. I could use a new wardrobe there, plus some exercise clothes and equipment."

"Exercise equipment? What for?" Astoria was looking at him like he'd grown another head.

"Well, the goblins mentioned that your magic and your body and are one thing, so if I want to keep my magic strong and healthy, I need to keep my body strong and healthy as well. So I thought I'd start exercising. You know, running, lifting weights, swimming, that sort of thing."

"Ooh, I love swimming," she said excitedly. "Can I exercise with you? Please!" She looked at him with a puppy dog pout and he caved.

"Sure. In fact, you can both join me if you want," he said, looking at Daphne questioningly. She nodded slowly.

"That's actually not a bad idea. Count me in, although I could use some new clothes for that as well." He grinned at her.

"You ever heard of Harod's?"

Turns out that taking three pureblood witches with no budget to a muggle clothing store bigger than the entire shopping alley they were used to wasn't the brightest idea in the world. Luckily they had benches and snacks, so Harry could rest for a while. Still, the last thing he'd wanted was to spend another three hours in a clothing store. Although seeing Daphne in a bikini was totally worth it. Not that he actually said that; he wasn't _that_ stupid.

By the time he'd gotten a new wardrobe (including new jeans, t-shirts, jumpers, dress shirts, a suit, khakis, underwear, socks, shorts, tanks, a rain jacket, and sneakers) and the exercise equipment (a treadmill, set of weights, weight machines, jump rope, etc.) and the girls had finished their shopping (and he thought _he'd_ bought a lot of clothes) it was already dark out. He charged both his and the girls purchases to his account (Evelyn had protested vehemently at this but he'd insisted, plus, he was faster with his card) and walked outside, arms laden with packages and several large boxes sitting on the curb.

Suddenly he had an idea. "Dobby!" The small house elf popped in front of him immediately, literally bouncing in excitement. On his head were stacked five knitted caps and he wore several pillowcases in vibrant colors. His feet were clad in knitted socks, one bright orange and red striped, the other pink with red hearts. They were so bright Harry actually had to look away.

"The great Harry Potter sir is calling Dobby! Dobby is coming at once!"

"Hey Dobby, how are you?" Dobby immediately burst into tears.

"The great Harry Potter sir asks how Dobby is. Harry Potter sir is the bestest wizard ever!"

"Shh, Dobby. We're in muggle london." Dobby immediately quieted and looked at him in anticipation.

"Dobby is being quiet sir," he squeaked in a much quieter voice. "What can Dobby be doing for the great Harry Potter sir?"

"Dobby, are you still a free elf." Dobby shook his head emphatically but Harry cut him off before he could start on another rant. "Great, because I could use some help but it needs to be kept secret." Dobby's eyes grew wide and wet once more.

"The great Harry Potter sir trusts Dobby with his secrets! Dobby is the luckiest elf in the world!" becoming serious he added, "Dobby will not tell anyone master Harry Potter sir's secrets. Dobby will protect them with his life."

"Er, thanks. Look, I'm staying at Greengrass Manor right now. You know where that is." Dobby nodded his little head so Harry continued. "Could you please bring all these packages to my room there, along with this trunk? Oh, and could you take the girls' as well?"

"Oh course Harry Potter sir, right away Harry Potter sir." In the blink of an eye both Dobby and all the boxes and bags were gone. Harry sighed in relief and rubbed his aching shoulders.

"Who was _that_?"

"Oh, that was Dobby. He warned me about the chamber of secrets in second year and I freed him from the Malfoy's service in thanks. Ever since he's been rather, erm, attached."

Daphne actually laughed at that. "So we saw. Looks like we found the leader of your fan club." Harry laughed awkwardly, then had a realization.

"There isn't really a Harry Potter fanclub, is there?"

Daphne just smirked at him and said, "We'd best be getting home. Astoria looks about ready to fall over."

"I do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!" Rolling her eyes, Evelyn reached for her daughters and turned to Harry.

"I'll be right back for you dear." Then she apparated away with her bickering daughters. Not one minute later she was back and soon Harry was back at Greengrass Manor. Walking into his bedroom, he smiled to himself.

"Funny, this already feels like home." With that he collapsed into bed and was asleep in seconds. Not once did he notice the pair of bright green eyes watching him in admiration.


	8. Fake it till you Make it

"So what are you gonna do now." Astoria was looking at him worriedly with those big, blue eyes that she and her sister shared. They were sitting at the table having a midmorning snack of fresh fruit. Cyrus and Evelyn were taking a walk outside and Daphne was in the library, doing, well, Harry wasn't exactly sure. Nor was he brave enough to ask. He'd admit it: Daphne scared him. He'd never met someone so...cold. It was disconcerting, to say the least.

"I'm not really sure," he replied, shrugging slightly. "I've got to set up lessons, of course. You want to hear what I've planned so far?" She nodded excitedly.

"Alright. I'm planning on taking the goblins up on their offer of an instructor. From him, or her, I suppose, I'll learn both physical and magical defense and offense along with wizard history. So that's one instructor for three sets of lessons, then.

Your dad said he'd teach me "how to be a lord". I'm not really sure what that entails but I assume it includes wizarding law, politics, etiquette, finance, and more history." Astoria nodded in agreement.

"So that's another, what, five subjects, making a total of eight. But that's not everything. I still need lessons in occlumency and animagus training, plus I should review all my school books from the past five years, maybe even for next year, too. So that makes a total of eleven subjects I need to learn by summer's end. Seeing as how the order tends to come get me on my birthday, I really only have until July 31st. And today's what, the 23rd of June?" She nodded in agreement.

"So that leaves me with less than six weeks to learn, well, everything." At this he put his head into his hands and groaned. "I need more time. I need more time!" He threw a grape away in anger, scowling at the unfairness of the universe.

"You done pouting," Daphne's acidic voiced shot from the doorway. He transferred his scowl to her but nodded all the same. "Good, because I just might have a solution to your problem." His eyes filled with painful hope and he looked at her almost desperately.

"We need to go to Gringotts."

"Again?" He had just spent hours there the previous day. He wasn't exactly aching to go back.

"Yes, again," she snapped impatiently. "Go grab your cloak. We'll go now, while my parents are out."

"But why would we want-"

"Look, Potter," she snapped again. "You want to live, right?" He nodded. "And if my plan works out, it'll be worth it, right?" Again she received a nod. "Even if my parents don't approve?" A much more hesitant nod here. "Then get going. We leave in five." She stormed out of the room, her cloak swirling behind her, and Harry turned to Astoria, confusion written all over his face.

She giggled sweetly and prodded him off his chair. "She can be cold sometimes but she really does want to help. If she has a plan your best bet is to go with it. So go on. Go grab your cloak! I'll keep an eye on Mum and Dad."

"Erm, thanks, I guess." She giggled again and pushed him out the door.

"Good luck!"

Five minutes later Harry found himself sprawled across the floor of Gringotts and covered in soot. Daphne stood above him, poised and soot-free, a look of concentration on her face. She was so intent on her goal that she didn't even laugh at Harry, who was rather grateful.

Storming up to the nearest teller Daphne demanded to see Ragnok at once. A flash of Harry's family rings sent him running and five minutes later they were sitting in Ragnok's office, sipping tea.

"Hello Harry, Ms. Greengrass. I must say I'm surprised to see you so soon."

"Me too," Harry muttered under his breath. Daphne's elbow made solid contact with his ribs and he winced.

"Manager Ragnok, I understand that as Friend of the Goblin Nation Potter here has certain rights that most wizards don't." Ragnok nodded, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. Daphne pressed on, ignoring his penetrating gaze. "Would one of these rights include the use of goblin artifacts like, say, a time turner?"

Understanding clicked in Harry's brain and he sat up straighter. "Daphne, you're a genius!" She smirked at him.

"I know." Harry wasn't sure if it was just the light or what but he thought she seemed rather pleased by his praise. Turning to Ragnok he continued with the thread of conversation.

"You see, Ragnok, I only have a few more weeks of the summer to learn, well, everything, and that's just not enough time. I know you offered the use of a goblin trainer but that only covers part of what I need to learn. If I could use something like a time turner then I could fit all my lessons in and be way more prepared this fall."

Ragnok regarded both of them for some time; Daphne sat there stoically, meeting his gaze unflinchingly, but Harry had begun to fidget rather early. Finally Ragnok spoke. "I take it you wish to accompany him?" He was looking at Daphne as he said this, something that confused Harry.

"I do."

"You do?" She rolled her eyes at him.

"Yes Potter, I do."

"But, why? I mean, you don't really need the training, and, erm…"

"You think I don't like you." He nodded and ducked his head in embarrassment. Surprisingly Daphne just shrugged at this.

"To be honest Potter I'm not really sure _what_ to think of you. You're Lord of six of the Most Ancient and Noble Houses and richer than Britain. You practically own the government, and yet you have no self-confidence and no idea how to use any of this power to your advantage. Stranger yet, you don't seem to _want_ to use any of this power to you advantage. It honestly makes me wonder if you're not a Hufflepuff."

"So why do you want to come with me, then?"

"I'd be stupid to pass up on such an opportunity. Think of it, a goblin trainer, a whole extra summer of lessons. I could learn so much!" Her eyes were shining in excitement, reminding Harry of a certain bushy haired friend.

"You sound like Hermione."

She scowled ferociously at him. "I'm nothing like that," she noticed Harry's expression and changed her word at the last minute, " _girl_ at all. _I_ have self-control and don't regurgitate the entire text book when asked a question. _I_ don't throw a fit when someone else gives a better answer than me. _I_ don't nag my friends to do their work to the point of them avoiding me at exam time."

At this point Harry held up his hands in surrender. He was sensing some history there that he didn't really want to delve into. "Okay, okay! I'm sorry I said anything."

"Ah hem, if I may intrude." Harry turned back to Ragnok, blushing in embarrassment. If he wasn't mistaken, Daphne's cheeks were also a little pink. "To answer your question, Ms. Greengrass, yes, Harry has the right to use such a thing, were it to exist. However, I don't think a time turner is the best thing, in this case."

Seeing disappointment cross their faces, he added, "However, I may have something else that works just as well." He turned to the door and began yelling commands in Gobbledygook. Moments later a younger goblin walked through the door and spoke quietly with him for a few minutes.

After he'd left Ragnok turned to his young guests. "Harry, what I'm about to speak about is considered a Goblin secret and is guarded more stringently than our vaults." He gave a significant look at Daphne. "I will trust your judgement on whether we can have this discussion in present company."

It took a few moments for Harry to figure out exactly what he was saying, but when he did he was surprised by his response. "I trust her with my life, sir. Whatever you have to tell me, you can tell her as well." If Daphne was surprised by this she didn't show it, but he thought he felt her eyes on him much more than usual after that.

"Very well, I trust your judgement. We have here at Gringotts a time chamber. When active, each hour that passes outside the chamber corresponds to twenty four hours within the chamber. That means that each day in real time equals twenty four days in chamber time. By this math, an entire year can be lived in just over two weeks real time.

You happen to be in luck. The chamber will be available this Friday for the entire 15 days it takes to live a year. Better yet, the man I had in mind for your lessons is planning on staying in the chamber for the entire fifteen days.

I would like for you to meet him before you agree to anything, though. Have you the time now?"

Harry and Daphne glanced at each other, then nodded. "Very well, follow me." Ragnok led them deep into the tunnel system to a large stone door. Running his finger across it, it slid open and he stepped forwards.

Behind the door stood a large stone room the size of the Hogwarts great hall. In fact, the domed ceiling was enchanted just like the ceiling of the great hall. When Harry mentioned this, Ragnok told them that Rowena Ravenclaw herself had charmed the room as a thanks for rescuing her youngest brother. Its existence had been one of the goblins most closely guarded secrets ever since.

Examining the room further, Harry found that it was divided into sections. On the far right, closest to the door, was an infirmary. Cabinets lined the walls and beds covered in crisp white linen were arranged in rows between the two longest sides of the room.

Seeing his curious gaze, Ragnok explained that the chamber was most often used for sick patients that hadn't the time to fully recuperate out in the real world and thus requested use of the time chamber. Harry nodded in understanding and continued his examination.

A large folding door separated the infirmary from the next section of the room, the living quarters. From what Harry could see, the quarters resembled the American office style of cubicles. Each room had a bed, nightstand, and dresser. A folding wall separated it from the next room, and the next and the next. At the end closest to him he saw a communal bathroom for the males. He assumed the females had a similar one at the other end.

There were two rows of about ten rooms each and it seemed that they were separated by gender. The men were on the right, the women on the left. On the left, what would have been the first two rooms for the women were instead transformed into an open dining area. Ragnok informed them that Rowena had charmed it so that house elves could pop in and out despite the time change to bring supplies.

The infirmary and living quarters together totaled about one third of the caverns' total area. The next third was divided somewhat differently. On the half closest to the door a series of low walls, about four feet high, cut the space into a series of classrooms. A larger wall then separated this front half from the back, which housed a large library.

It was the far end of the cavern that interested Harry the most. The previous two thirds of the cavern were floored and walled in wood and made to look like real rooms. The far third, however, was the same rough stone as the cavern walls. It was entirely open and covered in carved runes.

When he asked, Harry learned that it was the dueling section of the chamber and that the runes prevented any permanent damage from occurring and kept any spell fire localized to the area, so as not to interfere with the rest of the chamber.

It was, in a word, brilliant.

In the dueling chamber the small party found a middle aged goblin pacing the chamber, a piece of chalk in his hand. He was muttering angrily to himself in gobbledygook and occasionally writing random figures and numbers on the walls in chalk.

"Ah, Ironfist. What has that wall done to you to be cursed so unfairly?" The goblin called Ironfist turned to Ragnok and offered a feral smile.

"Who said it needed to do anything?" Ragnok barked a laugh and grabbed his forearm in the typical goblin greeting.

"Ironfist, I would like you to meet Friend Harry Potter and his- acquaintance - Daphne Greengrass. They're the ones I told you about last night." Ironfist looked them over inch by inch, then spat into the corner and addressed Ragnok.

"Hmph. The girls got gumption, for sure. She shouldn't be a problem. Not sure about the boy, though. Seems a little unsure of himself and looks like a stiff wind would blow him over. Still, not bad for a wizard." He turned his attention to said wizard and stepped closer so they were just inches apart.

"You willing to go through hell and back under the so call guise of becoming a warrior? It won't be easy, boy." Harry stiffened at that and looked him right in the eye.

"Bring it on." Ironfist bellowed a laugh and turned to Ragnok.

"He's got guts, he has. Maybe he'll do better than I thought. Have 'em here on Friday and I'll see what I can do." With a nod he picked up his chalk and resumed his pacing.

Ragnok turned to Harry and nodded. "Congratulations, he's agreed to teach you."

"Thank you, Ragnok." Ragnok gave an evil grin full of razor sharp teeth that shook Harry to his core.

"Oh, don't thank me yet, Harry. Ironfist is the best teacher out there simply because he knows no limits to what the body can do. You're in for a rough few weeks, my friend. Once you come out, _if_ you come out, you can thank me then."

With another disconcerting grin he turned and walked them back towards the nearest floo point. With a wave and a call of "Greengrass Manor!" the two young magicals were gone.

Stumbling out of the floo, Harry managed to only fall on his knees rather than his face. Personally he was quite proud. Of course, Daphne still snorted at the sight when she stepped out behind him, once again perfectly poised and soot free. He was going to have to swallow his pride soon and learn how to do that.

"How'd it go?" Astoria was looking over her book on dragons at them curiously from the couch.

"Really well," he replied happily. "Did your parents come around at all?" She shook her head.

"Nope, they're still outside somewhere." Daphne sighed in relief at that and sat in the nearest armchair.

Harry looked at her curiously, then asked, "Why didn't we want them to know where we were, anyway? I mean, we didn't do anything wrong."

"Well, if the goblins didn't have what we needed I was going to suggest we steal a turner from the ministry." His eyes grew wide at that and she shrugged. "What, you've already snuck in once before. The second time would be a breeze."

He nodded, his eyes still wide. "I'm glad things worked out then."

"What worked out?" Evelyn and Cyrus walked casually through the doorway, hand in hand.

"We found a way to solve Harry's problem!" Astoria looked extremely proud of herself as she said this and Harry had to smother a smile.

"And what problem would that be?"

"Fitting all my lessons into the rest of the summer. There just wasn't enough time to learn everything I needed to know." Cyrus nodded.

"I'd noticed that but I couldn't think of any alternatives."

"Yes, well, you probably don't live in the library like Daphne does." Daphne shot a glare Harry's way but didn't attack him, so he felt pretty confident that she was opening up to his sense of humor. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking.

"Too true," Evelyn said with a chuckle. "So, Daphne, what did you come up with?"

"In a book on time turners, which I found after a _reasonable_ time in the library, I found a reference to an object that could turn a month into a year, but it was lost long ago in a ministry seizure. The actual seizure, though, had goblins written all over it. I figured if the goblins did indeed have this object, then a Friend of the goblin nation would be allowed access to it." Understanding dawned in her parent's eyes and Astoria began to bounce in excitement.

"Did they have it," she squealed.

Harry grinned at her and nodded. She responded with another, much longer and higher pitched squeal that had poor Cyrus grabbing his ears in pain. "Did they grant you permission to use it," he asked, still rubbing his ears.

"Not only that, but it doesn't take a whole month. We'll only be gone for fifteen days."

"We?" Daphne gave her father a hard look and nodded.

"Yes, we. Did you really think I would pass up the opportunity to get a free years' worth of training from _goblins_?" Cyrus gave a small laugh at that.

"I guess not."

"So when do you leave? And where will you stay?"

"We need to be at Gringotts at 8 o' clock Friday morning. We'll be staying at the bank the whole time and will come out in fifteen days a whole year older and wiser." Harry's eyes were gleaming in anticipation at this, as were Daphne's.

"Well then, I guess you'd better start packing." Daphne gave a little squeal, sounding very much like Astoria, and ran to give her father a hug.

"Thanks Daddy, you're the best." She ran off to who knows where, leaving a very amused family behind.

"I love you girls, I really do, but must you be so hard on my ears?" After a round of laughter the rest of the group broke apart, Evelyn and Astoria to the kitchen, Cyrus to his office, and Harry to his room.

Since it was a lovely day out Harry changed into shorts and a t-shirt and went in search of Daphne. He found her sitting in her room, glaring at her trunk which was filled to the brim with clothes and books.

"Daphne, you do realize that there's a library in the chamber, right?" She nodded and scowled, never once moving her gaze from the overloaded trunk.

"It's just, what if they don't have everything? I mean, it's rather impossible that they do. And it can't hurt to bring just a few more books." She sounded so much like Hermione at that point Harry just had to laugh.

"Tell you what, I've got space in my trunk. Why don't you add your books to the library in the hidden room?" At his statement her eyes lit up and she gave him a real, genuine smile.

"Thanks." Harry just nodded at that statement as he was finding it hard to think clearly. His heart was racing, his tongue all twisted up, and he suddenly felt nervous.

"You should smile more," he blurted out randomly, cursing his lack of a mental filter. "It makes you look even more beautiful." To his total shock Daphne actually blushed, before slamming her mask back into place.

"Thanks," she said neutrally, though her cheeks were still slightly flushed. After a few moments of awkward silence she asked, "Were you looking for me for something?"

Harry snapped out of his daze, hoping she hadn't noticed his staring. "Oh, uh, yes, actually. I was thinking we could go for a run or a swim or something since it's so nice out." At this she rolled her eyes.

"Of course it's nice out, haven't you heard of weather charms?" Still, Harry noticed that her voice lacked its usual bite and she hadn't intended it to be mean, more like a gentle tease.

"No, actually, but I'm sure you'll tell me all about them." And so she did. As they ran laps around the large gardens she delved into the complex world of weather charms, and then ward charms, and then just charms in general. As she talked her eyes lit up and she let her mask slip just a bit. Harry found that he just couldn't get enough and he was sorry when they were called in to lunch.

It seemed that she was too, and as they parted ways she gave him a pat on the arm and another one of her rare smiles. He practically floated back to his room.

After a filling lunch Evelyn, at Harry's request, gave Harry some tips on using the floo and allowed him to floo from one end of the manor to the other. After only thirty minutes he was consistently landing on his feet and only coming out moderately covered in soot. Grinning in victory, he trotted off to find Cyrus to ask for some advice on how to behave like a lord.

Cyrus's advice was simple: fake it 'till you make it. "You see, Harry, Lords are just everyday people. We're not really that special at all. The thing that distinguishes us from everyone else is that we _pretend_ that we're better." At Harry's frown, he hastily corrected himself. "Maybe not _better_ per se, but _special_. We are descended from a long line of leaders, the men who created our entire society. I think people would actually worry if we weren't a little cocky."

"But won't people think we're stuck up?"

"Yes, but that's part of the act. We are Lords of a Most Ancient and Noble House, or your case, six Most Ancient and Noble Houses. Frankly, people expect us to be a little stuck up."

"I don't want people to think of me the way they think of Malfoy."

"That won't be a problem. You see, the way Malfoy walks and talks is very much like a lord, but the thing is that when he interacts with the common folk he looks down his nose at them. A proper lord acts sure of himself, confident, and yes, a little stuck up, but they realize that the common folk are the people they are trying to protect, not put down. They recognize that people are actually beings, not something unpleasant on the bottom of their shoe. That recognition shows through in their interactions with others and that is what's going to separate you from the likes of Malfoy.

What I don't think you've noticed Harry is that you are instinctually a good person. You treat others, and not just wizards, as equals. I've noticed it, Ragnok noticed it, and your friend Dobby has noticed it, too. In fact the only one who really doesn't see it is you. When you go out there, don't worry so much. Like I said, you're a good person. They'll see that, and if they don't, then who cares? You own the freaking government, Harry. You don't _need_ the people to like you. Mind, you should want them too and strive to make a good impression, but don't waste too much time worrying about it."

Harry still looked uncertain as he walked out of the room and towards the library. He needed a second opinion and he knew just who to ask.

"Am I like Malfoy now," Harry blurted out as soon as he found her. Daphne looked up from her chair in the library and gave him a confused look. "Because I don't want to be like that," he continued, beginning to babble.

Seeing the problem Daphne set her book now and gestured for Harry to take a seat. After a few more minutes of self-conscious rambling Harry finally passed to catch his breath and Daphne was finally able to get a word it.

"What on earth are you talking about?" Harry looked confused, then realized he hadn't done a good job explaining things and flushed in embarrassment.

"Oh. Sorry. It's just, your dad was giving me lessons on how to be a lord and he said that I have to act better than everyone else and I don't want people to think I'm like Malfoy." She nodded her head in understanding and leaned back, gazing at him thoughtfully.

Finally she asked, "Who exactly do you mean by 'people'?"

"You know, just, everyone out there. _People_."

"Ah, I see. These would be the same people that worshipped a baby for ten years for defeating a dark lord but didn't bother once checking on him or saving him for an abusive environment? The same people that shunned you in second year for having an ability that was completely out of your control? The same people that didn't bother giving your godfather a trial? The same people that made a boy face a dragon, alternatively worship and then hate him, believe everything they read in the papers, and have abandoned you more times than you can count? Those people?"

He stared at her in shock for several minutes, slowly thinking things through. No he didn't want to be portrayed as anything like Malfoy, but did he honestly care what people thought of him? He'd gone from hero to troublesome boy to hero to criminal back to hero to attention-seeking liar and finally back to hero again all in the span of a couple years. The 'people' he was so worried about were very much like sheep being herded along every which way. Did he honestly want to care about a bunch of _sheep_? No, not one bit.

Daphne knew the moment her argument had made it through to him, it was written in every line of Harry's body. The previously slouched over boy was now sitting tall. Where he was had been meek and worried he now stood strong and uncaring. His whole aura radiated confidence. He honestly didn't care what people thought of him anymore, and it was liberating. His bright green eyes, still glowing with power, snapped over to hers and she smothered a gasp. What once had been soft green eyes riddled with emotion with now hard and strong. Daphne smothered a smile and he stood; Harry had just gone from boy to man, and it showed.

"My wand should be done by now. I'm going to Diagon Alley to fetch it." Daphne noticed he'd made a statement rather than asked permission and barely concealed a victorious grin. "Would you like to accompany me?"

She nodded and stood, taking his arm. "I would indeed, mi'lord." He grinned at her and she couldn't help but smile back at him. She liked this new Harry.

Evelyn was sitting in the den listening to Astoria go on and on about her friend Sam's upcoming visit and trying to get some reading done when Harry walked in. Glancing up to smile a greeting she stopped and did a double take. She knew that Cyrus had talked to him but she didn't know he'd made _this_ much progress.

Harry stood tall and determined in his black robes with emerald embroidery. His eyes were almost glowing with power and he exuded confidence. Her Ice Queen of a daughter stood tall and proud beside him, her mask firmly in place, but Evelyn could see the pride and excitement in her eyes.

"We're going to Diagon Alley to retrieve my new wand. We shouldn't be more than an hour. Is there anything I can get you while I'm out?" Evelyn had to fight the urge to break eye contact and shrink in on herself. Harry exuded power and her natural instincts were screaming 'submit!'

"No thank you, Lord Potter," for that was most certainly who she was speaking to now. He nodded once to her, once to Astoria, then stepped into the floo and whooshed away. Daphne gave her mother a predatory grin and followed behind him.

Quickly she stood and went to find her husband, only to see him standing in the doorway looking rather shocked. "Why didn't you say you'd talked to him? That's a huge change!" He shook his head in shock.

"Because it wasn't me. The boy who walked out of my office still had his tail between his legs and too many burdens on his shoulders." This was greeted with silence.

"She's good for him," Evelyn finally stated, figuring correctly that her daughter was the one who had instigated this change.

Cyrus nodded firmly. "And he for her." After another nod he went back to work and she went back to reading, though she found it rather hard to focus.

Over at diagon alley Harry was basking in the changed atmosphere. Usually people exuded curiosity when he came and stared at him like he was an exhibit in a zoo. Last visit with Cyrus people had shied away in fear. Now, though, people exuded respect. As he walked confidently down the alley people quickly moved out of the way and stared out of the corner of their eyes at him in awe.

No one blinked twice as he turned into Knockturn and he grinned to himself. It was nice not to be judged for every little thing, not that he cared one way or the other anymore.

Bugsy took one look at him and grinned, standing and giving him a little bow. "Mi'lord, ye've come inta yer own. Suits yah." Harry nodded in acknowledgment and followed Bugsy into the back room, where he was handed a thin black box. Opening it Harry fought not to gasp.

Sitting in the box was the most beautiful wand he'd ever seen. The deep black obsidian had been smoothed and polished to a shine. Contrasting greatly with the black was the silver of the unicorn blood, which formed a vined pattern that swirled around the wand from the bottom all the way to the tip, where the emerald was attached with silver facets. Looking closely Harry noticed that the leaves of the vines each held a small carved rune, also written in unicorn blood.

"'S a beauty, aint it?" He simply nodded and reached for it. "Hold yer horses, boy, 's not quite done yet. Needs a drop a yer blood."

"My blood?" Bugsy nodded.

"Tunes the wand to yah 'n' makes it so no one else can use it." At Bugsy's request Harry pricked his thumb with his handy dagger and squeezed one drop of blood onto the emerald wand tip. Instead of staining it red like he'd expected, the blood simply flowed through the crystal right into the wand itself, where it disappeared from view. A bright flash signified the wand was finally complete.

Picking it up, Harry felt a rush of power stronger than he'd ever felt.

"Lumos," he whispered, and immediately there was a bright white burst of light that temporarily blinded all three of them.

"Wow," Daphne said softly. Harry nodded in agreement, then reluctantly transferred his gaze to Bugsy, who looked smug.

"It's the best one I've ever made." Both Harry and Daphne nodded in agreement.

"How much?"

"One hundred seventeen galleons. I'll even throw in an extra wand holder." He tossed a dragon hide wand holder on the table and Harry handed him his card.

"Take an extra fifteen galleons for yourself, Bugsy. You've earned it." Indeed he had, and as Harry walked out of the shop, Daphne by his side, he was suddenly struck by the realization that defeating Voldemort was becoming more real a possibility every day. He might just make it out of this war alive.


	9. Training Part 1

"Oof!" Harry was thrown bodily into the rough stone wall he'd come to hate for the sixth time that morning. At least, he assumed it was morning. The sun had "risen" across the charmed ceiling just hours before and the clock that showed the time in the chamber read 9:15, but it certainly didn't feel like morning.

He'd started the day like he usually did; He woke up around 5am, admired the beauty of the enchanted sunrise, dressed in his goblin made battle robes, ate a hearty breakfast, and then wished for a swift death.

He was starting to really hate Ragnok. After all, it was his fault he was in this bloody chamber with the stupid bloody goblin trainer and his stupid bloody training regimen. Harry was pretty sure it was inhuman, or ingoblin, whatever.

The regimen was simple. Meet at the battle chamber at 6am for a three mile "warm up" run. Ironfist then granted them a five minute break "out of the goodness of his heart", (to which Daphne had responded "you have no heart" and Harry had nodded in agreement) before they ran another mile, this time while trying to avoid curses and objects Ironfist was hurling at them with the precision of an aged warrior. His favorite was to hit them behind the knee with a weak blasting hex so they would fall onto their faces.

You'd think that this would garner some type of sympathy, but noooo. Instead, Ironfist would yell at them to "get up off the bloody floor you useless jackawads," (apparently Doc wasn't the only goblin to enjoy muggle humor), "and actually dodge next time!" Harry had taken to quoting large portions of the movie "Dodgeball" which left Daphne rather confused. He swore that when they got out of this stupid death chamber, as he'd taken to calling it, he'd sit her down in front of a tele and wow her pureblood house-elf made socks off.

By the time Ironfist's target practice was done, it was time for their target practice, which consisted of two physically exhausted magicals attempted to stun a bouncing goblin that they swore was part hamster. Despite the fact they'd been at it for six days they'd yet to hit him once.

Target practice was followed by physical fighting, during which Ironfist would beat the living shit out of them and then scold them for not defending. When they pointed out they had no idea how to defend themselves he'd respond with "what do you think I'm teaching you, quidditch?"

Today he was "teaching" them an over the shoulder throw, which was how Harry had been thrown into the wall for the sixth time that morning.

"I'm doing the same thing each time you bloody moron. You'd think the bloody chosen one would think to do something different after being thrown into a wall six times, but nooo, the bloody idiot just keeps coming back for more!"

Ironfist was looking to Daphne in exasperation but she was too tired to respond. Harry had had at least a little exercise what with quidditch and constantly running for his life, plus he'd just gotten all that new muscle from the ritual. Daphne, however, was a pureblood and a female and was thus much farther behind in the realm of physical fitness. If Harry felt like crap he didn't even want to know how Daphne felt.

Picking himself up off the floor Harry readied himself for another go, just like he had the six going on seven times before. Running at the goblin he swung his fist wildly toward Ironfist's face. And just like last time Ironfist swiftly sidestepped, snatched Harry's arm out of the air and used Harry's momentum to fling the wizard over his bony shoulder. A crunch was heard followed by a muffled groan and Harry fell to the floor in a heap.

"Get up you useless bag of bones and fight!" Slowly Harry rose to his feet, checked himself for injuries, and then turned towards Ironfist in acceptance of his miserable fate. "Okay, let's see if you can finally use that brain I've invested so much time in. Come on, try again."

Settling his weight on the front of his feet, Harry took a deep breath, centering himself. Ironfist was right, he wasn't using his brain. The goal of this lesson was to land a blow anywhere on the goblin. So far Harry had stuck mostly with punches, especially after watching Daphne attempt a kick and get smashed to the floor in response. He was pretty sure he'd heard something break then and she hadn't moved from her spot against the wall since.

Slowly an idea formed in his mind and he changed his stance, moving most of his weight to his left foot. Swinging wildly at Ironfist again he stopped just before it neared his grasp and swung his right foot up, catching his trainer in the middle of his sidestep and causing him to tumble to the floor. Grinning in victory Harry raised his arms and whooped in triumph, only to be cut off as Ironfist's foot contacted a very private place. His whoop turned into a high pitched squeal and Harry slowly slid to the floor, grasping his man bits. Nearby Daphne winced in sympathy.

"That was better, but never let your guard down! Just because your opponent is on the ground doesn't mean he can't fight." The only response he received was another groan from Harry, who looked close to tears. Turning to his other trainee he found her huddled on the floor, clutching her leg. "At this rate you won't be able to defeat a pigeon let alone a dark lord," he muttered nastily, then turned on his heel and began the trek to the infirmary. Those two idiots he was teaching wouldn't be able to make it all the way there, the healers would have to go to them, which meant he would have to put up with their complaints all the way down the chamber. Ugh. Ragnok was going to owe him some very fine scotch after this. And a lot of it, too.

The healers had indeed hassled him all the way to the chamber, but thankfully were able to patch up the wizard and witch and send them off again in under an hour. To their immense relief Ironfist was willing to take the healer's advice and give them the rest of the morning off to recuperate, though he did so grudgingly.

Without giving him the time to change his mind Harry and Daphne raced out of the chamber and back to their rooms. Over the past few days they had quickly developed a routine. They ran, showered, ate breakfast in silence, endured their daily torture with Ironfist, showered again, grabbed a quick lunch, spent the next few hours at lessons in the classroom nearest the library, and then divided their remaining time between socializing with the various goblins around and relaxing in the library.

In the spirit of following routine, even though it was slightly early Harry showered, grabbed a sandwich, and headed to their usual classroom.

Ironfist had been a goldmine of information not just on the actual fighting part of war but on the strategy and planning behind it. After thoroughly beating their sorry arses every morning he would meet with them again after lunch for an hour of battle strategy. This ranged from the actual placement of troops to calculating what supplies and materials you needed to order for your troops.

For the following hour Ironfist and Daphne tag teamed in teaching Harry wizarding history, which was taught to most purebloods when they were still quite young. In that class he learned the history of the goblins, wizards, and, most importantly, the Potter family. They went over each of the Most Ancient and Noble Houses in great detail, from who they married and allied with to investments and political ideologies. At first it was hard to balance the ideals of all 6 houses he headed as they often contradicted each other, but at Ironfist's and Daphne's encouragement he was slowly developing his own political style and ideology.

Finally Harry and Daphne were given an hour of free time, or, at least, that had been the plan. Unfortunately when the healers had seen to them for the third time in one day they insisted on giving them healing lessons so that the wizard and witch could heal themselves and "stop wasting their valuable time". So their one hour of free time was taken up by lessons in goblin healing, which focused less heavily on potions and more on healing a physical wound by repairing the magic around it.

It was like each body part had a strand of the wizards (or goblins) magic running down it and if that body part was injured, so was the strand. According to the goblins, to fix one was to fix the other. Not only was this easier on the healer because they used the magic already in the patient's body rather than their own, but it was also faster in the long run. Harry asked why wizard healers didn't use that type of healing, but got no real answer. It was a questionable mix of laziness and tradition, chalked up to the stupidity of wizards. Harry had just had to shrug and move on with his lesson.

At 3:00 their healing lesson ended and Daphne began teaching her round of lessons, a confusing jumble of occlumency, etiquette, politics, wizard law, and anything else she thought could be important. Harry had thought that Cyrus would have to teach him all this in the few remaining weeks of summer but apparently pureblood children were given lessons in these things as soon as they could walk (except occlumency, which didn't start until the age of eight) so Daphne was certified to teach him.

Each session with Daphne started with thirty minutes of meditation, which was the first step in learning occlumency. At this point Harry was trying to clear his mind and visualize his magical core. Usually he fell asleep but Daphne was always around to wake him with a gentle word. That was sarcasm; she usually kicked him awake.

After a catnap I mean meditation she would delve into that day's topic (which varied considerably) for however long she felt was necessary (usually her lessons lasted until around 5:00). Dinner with the goblins was at 5:30 and then they each retreated to the library to absorb as much extra information as they could in the few hours of "daylight" they had left. Then the next morning it would start all over again. Joy.

Today Harry was determined to see his core. Daphne had warned him that it normally took a few weeks to get to that stage, but he was Harry Potter, Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble Houses of Potter, Black, Peverell, Gryffindor, Slytherin, and Ravenclaw, the boy-who-lived, extremely powerful wizard, and he was as far from normal as it got.

And so instead of taking advantage of his newly acquired free time he headed to their usual classroom and transfigured a desk into a yoga mat. Sitting in the lotus position (legs crossed, palms up and resting on each knee, thumb and forefinger gently touching), he steadied his breathing and began to clear his mind.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. He visualized his mind as a glass sphere filled with thoughts whizzing about, pictures, and even the theme song to James Bond. Slowly he imagined thoughts and such turning to liquid until the sphere was completely full. Then he began to "drain" the sphere, lowering the level of liquid until the sphere was finally empty.

 _Now what?_ The question flashed across his brain along with a few curses. Slowly he turned it to liquid and drained it out. _I wonder where this stuff all goes. Shit!_ Again he drained his mind and focused on keeping it empty. _Stay empty. Stay empty. STAY EMPTY! Ugh!_

It was no use. How was he just supposed to think of nothing? It wasn't physically possible! Frustrated and angry he banished the mental image and sat in silence, sulking. Still he maintained his meditative stance and kept his eyes closed.

Soon he grew tired. It was warm and cozy in his little brain land and the beating of his heart was pounding through his ears in a soothing rhythm. Curious now he focused on the sound of his heart. Beat beat. Beat beat. It echoed all around his head but he instinctively knew it came from his chest.

Slowly he followed the sound, moving down through his neck and to his chest. He passed his brain and voice box and all sorts of veins and arteries; the view was simply amazing. As his journey continued the beating of his heart grew louder and louder until it almost seemed to shake up his image. There it was: his heart.

It wasn't really what he expected. It wasn't, well, heart-shaped. It was a weird slimy blob of red wrinkly tissue contracting and releasing almost spasmodically. It was kind of ugly. And small. _This little thing is what keeps me alive? I'm amazed I've made it as far as I have._

Turning away in disappointment Harry caught a flash of light coming from the corner of his eye. _What on earth was that?_ He waited a few moments to see if it would happen again. Aha! Yes, there it was. Down a little farther and to the right, hiding behind a piece of bone.

Overtaken with curiosity he followed the flashes to the center of his abdomen. Rounding what he guessed was a rib he was suddenly blinded by a bright pool of light. Blinking repeatedly, his eyes slowly adjusted until he could see the source of the light. This time he wasn't disappointed.

A great ball of pure white light was floating there, seemingly taking up space and yet displacing nothing. Wisps and tendrils occasionally snaked out, headed off to who knows where. What awed Harry was the power it radiated. It wasn't just light, it was pure energy. No, energy wasn't the right word. Magic. It was pure magic; he'd found his core.

Startled with the revelation he snapped out of his trance-like state and regained awareness of his surroundings. Daphne was sitting in a chair in the corner, reading a book from the library. Up above the synthetic sun shone brightly on a blue background, not a cloud in sight.

A grin broke out on his face and he jumped up, whooping in delight. In the corner Daphne jumped in her seat, her book dropping to the floor as she scrabbled for her wand. Not even bothering to hide his reaction Harry burst out laughing.

At Daphne's glare he attempted to apologize, but it was undermined by the large grin that remained spread across his face.

"What has you in such a good mood anyway," Daphne snapped, trying to cover up her embarrassment with anger.

"I saw it." He looked at her, excitement all over his face. Sighing she mentally counted to ten, trying to keep herself from strangling her companion.

"Saw what," she said shortly.

"My core!" Her eyebrows snapped up and she couldn't quite smother her surprise.

"Really? Already?" He shook his head eagerly. "How?"

"I tried clearing my mind but that didn't work very well so I just kinda sat back and relaxed. I became focused on my heartbeat and followed it down to my heart."

"Wait, what do you mean 'followed it down'?"

"Just that. I was inside my body and followed the sound down my neck and over to my heart, which was actually really ugly and kinda disappointing." Daphne looked confused at that but didn't comment, so he continued. "I was about to leave when a flash of light caught my eye. Traveling down farther to the center of my abdomen I found a great white floating ball of what seemed like pure energy but I'm assuming was magic."

Daphne nodded slowly. "The description matches what your core should look like. You said it was white, though?"

"Yah. Does that mean something?"

"Actually, yes. It's not a well-known fact since most wizards don't spend that much time looking at their cores, but each one is a different shape and color. Shape reflects your control over your magic. The more control you have, the more spherical it becomes. Mine's round but still fuzzy around the edges."

Harry nodded, "Mine was denser at the center but wasn't bound by anything so kind of leaked out, I guess."

"That's normal at this stage. Even though you use your magic often you don't have complete control over it. That takes time and practice. We probably won't start working on it consciously for another six months in here.

Now, color, on the other hand, reflects raw power. The darker you are, the less powerful you are, and vice versa. My core is light green, which is above average. Dumbledore's is probably a medium yellow. That yours is white is … interesting."

"Interesting how? Surely it's not that rare?" She locked eyes with him, deadly serious.

"The last known person to have a pure white core was Merlin himself. Not even the four founders had white cores." For a moment he simply stared at her in shock.

"You can't be serious," he blurted after a while. "I can't be, I mean, I'm not-"

"Not what?"

"Not as powerful as freakin' Merlin!" He swung his arms open wide, gestured to himself, and stared at her, hoping she'd agree with him. She didn't.

"You are, though. Maybe even more so." He stared at her like she'd sprouted an extra head and starting dancing the Macarena. "Don't look at me like that. This doesn't change anything."

"Of course it does!"

"No, it doesn't. We already knew you were powerful, now we just know how much. Our plans won't change at all. We'll still train here, you'll still smack down Dumbledore, and together we'll kill the dark lord. That's that. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to take advantage of the," she checked the clock, "twenty three minutes of free time we have left and finish reading my book. If you feel the need to shout your denials some more I believe the training room is available." At that she turned back to her book, completely ignoring his presence.

Slowly he turned and walked away, shaking his head. He'd just found that he was possibly more powerful than Merlin and she had shrugged it off and went back to her book. Women.

Shrugging his shoulders in change he headed off to the library, determined to put his twenty three minutes of free time to use. Now he wasn't usually very into reading, but you'll find that a lot changes when someone is actively trying to kill you. True Voldemort had been after him since first year, but until Sirius had died it just hadn't been real. A couple of assassination attempts here, a kidnapping or two there, some freaky visions and voila, you have the life of one boy-who-lived.

But no one had been killed before. There was Cedric, of course, but he hadn't known him that well and it hadn't affected him the same as Sirius. Seeing him fall through the veil, seeing his friends get hurt, almost dying at the Dursleys, all this had seriously changed his priorities. Before was about surviving. Now was about fighting.

Coming out of his thoughts he found himself in the transfiguration section of the library. Glancing down he spotted a title and grinned: _Finding Your Inner Animal: A Guide to becoming an Animagus_. "Speaking of Sirius," Harry muttered as he skimmed the first chapter.

From what he could tell the process of becoming an animagus was a lot like learning occlumency. In both cases the first step was to meditate and find your magical core. From there you practiced finding it again and again until it took little to no conscious effort. Next was to explore the core itself.

Apparently what Harry had seen was only the outer part of his core. On the inside there was supposed to be a "room" where memories were stored and where the animagus form lay dormant. The wizard would then have to organize the memories and create defenses, and/or awaken the inner animagus.

Noting that his time was up he tucked the book under his arm and ran to the classroom. Today they were learning how to find and/or create a defensible position for a battle. Ironfist had a magical map of most of the UK and he could zoom in at will to show them a 3D representation of a specific area. It was actually really cool and Harry was hoping to incorporate some of the map's features into the Marauder's map, like the zooming feature and the 3D image. Still, that would have to wait until Harry actually had time to sit down and figure out the spells on each map, which he couldn't see happening any time soon.

Later that evening Harry found Daphne curled up in an armchair in the library, engrossed in a book on goblin history that was larger than her head. Sensing his presence she dragged her eyes away from the book and onto the face of the boy-who-lived, who was admittedly quite handsome but not nearly as interesting as King Skullcrusher's reign of 1270A.D.

"Hey Daphne, can I ask you a question on occlumency?" She grunted in impatience but didn't return to her book, so Harry took that as a sign and continued on.

"Well, Occlumency is all about protecting your mind, but your base is in your core, which is in your abdomen. So how does that work?" A spark of interest entered her eyes and she sat up straighter, unconsciously slipping into her teaching voice.

"What you saw as your core wasn't there in a physical sense. It was simply a visual representation of the magic within you. That it was in your abdomen is odd but unimportant. You simply need to move the visualization from there to your head. To be honest it doesn't actually need to be in your head at all, but it makes visualizing your defense easier since that's where the legilimens is looking."

"Alright, that makes sense so far. How do I move the visualization, then?"

"There's no one set way of going about it. You have to remember that magic is intent. If you want it to do something, you have to focus on that outcome. On the other hand, visualizing the outcome is often the best way to go about things, so you could argue that magic is visualization as well.

I'm not entirely sure, but I would imagine that you could use either method to move your core. Either focus on it appearing in your head where you want it, or find it the way you did last time and drag it up to your target. The first focuses on intent while the second is all visualization. Either way should do it, though from what you've told me I would imagine the visualization would work best for you."

"Alright, thanks, I'll give that a try."

"Your welcome. Why don't you try right now so that if you have any problems I'll be nearby to help?" He gave her a big grin and scrambled to take a seat nearby.

"Okay, thanks. Wish me luck."

"You, Potter, are heir to six of the Most Ancient and Noble Houses, have survived the killing curse, a basilisk, won the tri-wizard tournament, survived that stupid flunky Umbitch and won a battle with death eaters, have more power than merlin, and, most importantly, are being taught by goblins and, of course, yours truly. You don't need luck."

"Well when you put it that way," he said, giving her a lopsided smile. She rolled her eyes and returned to her book, though Harry was sure he saw a matching smile on her face before it turned away.

Summoning his focus he entered his meditative state and visualized his mind. While tugging his core all around his body sounded like a blast and a half, he decided to give the intent magic option a try first, just for shits and giggles. Recalling the image of his core he imagined a white ball, edges slightly blurred, appearing in his mind. Holding the image steady he reached for his magic like he would if casting a spell and gave a little tug. Then another one. And an even stronger one. Man, this thing really didn't want to move. Bracing himself mentally, he summoned all his strength and yanked as hard as he could. Suddenly he was blinded by the light of his core was again. When he regained his sight he saw that he'd accomplished his task. His magical core was floating in his mind, or, his imagined mind, whatever. Grinning, he opened his eyes.

Daphne had been deep into the tale of King Skullcrusher, who'd deposed his corrupt father and staged a bloody uprising, completely overthrowing the entire goblin government. He gained the name Skullcrusher for the punishment he doled out to his father, who had his skull crushed between two statues he'd had made of himself. The descriptions had Daphne wincing and feeling slightly nauseous.

As she looked away, attempting to settle her stomach she noticed that Harry was glowing slightly. Curious she stepped closer and observed him in more detail. His teeth were gritted, whether in pain or concentration she couldn't tell, and beads of sweat had formed on his forehead.

She scrunched up her nose, confused. From what she'd read it shouldn't have been that difficult to move his core. Maybe it was different since his was so strong?

Her musings were interrupted when she felt another, slightly stronger pulse of magic from him, accompanied by a brighter glow. Just like last time it dimmed again almost immediately. Curious, she reached for him. Just as she made contact he gave off an almighty burst of magic that threw her back five feet into the bookshelves and surrounded his entire body with a glowing white aura. She regained consciousness just long enough to stare into a pair of green, glowing eyes before everything went black.

The results of the incident last night were showing themselves the next morning. Harry's spells were faster, stronger, and most accurate than anything he'd thrown before. Not only that, but he seemed more comfortable, not only with his magic but with himself as well.

Daphne had needed to be revived by a healer but luckily she only had a large goose egg and a slight headache, nothing more. In fact, she wasn't at all bothered by the injury, which Harry had apologized about three dozen times for so far. No, she wasn't interested in that. What she was interested in was what had happened to Harry. From everything she'd read nothing should have changed except the way he visualized his core. Obviously, more had happened.

After spending a few hours frantically searching the library and comparing the theories of the healers, Ironfist, and herself, (Harry was quite tired after expending so much magic and had gone to bed early, so he didn't participate in the conversation), she concluded that he'd somehow managed to merge with his core while moving it.

Merging with one's core was the hardest, and most controversial part of occlumency. It was typically done gradually over the course of a year, six months at best. She considered her skills quite advanced and she'd taken almost 18 months to fully merge. And some people never even took the time to merge. They argued that the merging was to increase your accessibility to your magic so your defenses could stay up without any conscious effort, but that since you could still access your magic without that step it was easier to consciously put effort into the defenses every once in a while instead of taking the time to merge. She's only done it because she'd been curious. And maybe a little ambitious.

Another problem with merging was that there was no set goal. You simply had to "become one with your core". Typically that involved sending the mental representation of your physical body into the core itself over and over again until it became a natural feeling to be engulfed by your supply of magic. Apparently Harry had somehow done this and, instead of becoming used to the feeling gradually, had simply thrust himself in and stayed there.

Of course, he had no idea if this was the case and she didn't have a way to confirm her theory. Still, his description of the feeling, that he was surrounded by his magic and had been since it had happened, matched the signs of a successful merging. It that was the case then he'd just cut years off his training. All that was left to do was organize his memories and set up his defenses.

She was going to have to train harder if she wanted to keep an upper hand on Potter. He was getting good enough to beat her, and she didn't like to lose. Although, if her losing meant the defeat of the dark lord, she was willing to make that sacrifice. Still, though, she'd better fit in some extra studying. Maybe after dinner?


	10. Training Part 2

A/N: This is the last of the training chapters. I didn't want to spend too much time on it. It covers the last six months or so of training.

* * *

"Come on, damn it, change!" A part human part feline creature was sitting on the floor of the classroom on its hands and knees, which were slowly becoming furry legs. After a few moments there was what looked to be a black leopard sitting in the room, but it lacked a tail and had Harry's head. It was quite a disconcerting image.

"What's wrong this time?" Daphne was sitting in a nearby chair, both arms covered in feathers. She and Harry had been using their free time to attempt the animagus change, which was proving to be more difficult than either of them had imagined.

Finding their inner animals had been easy enough; Daphne had known hers for a while now. She was a hawk owl. Harry had told her it was very fitting. "It totally makes sense," he'd said. "Owls are the symbol of wisdom and hawks are vicious predators. The hawk owl is a perfect combination of your features: wise, deadly, regal, and, of course, beautiful." Both of their cheeks had pinked a little before Daphne managed to chain the conversation topic.

She'd found herself having to do that more and more recently. For more than five years she'd employed the Ice Queen persona to keep people at a distance. It was a defense mechanism, and one that had come in quite handy.

Still, though, there was something about Harry that made her want to lower her walls, drop the mask, and show the real Daphne. Not even her family received so much. She loved them, she did, but she spent most of her time at school and couldn't afford to get into the habit of dropping her mask.

Surprisingly, Harry hadn't needed her to. He'd learned to read her very well, from the quirk of her lips that was her smile to the warning glint in her eyes that made him flee in fear.

They'd become quite close over the past six months. Of course, living, working, learning, and even saving someone day in and day out didn't exactly create a distant environment. But still, he was as close as her good friend Tracey, if not closer.

He was different than her friends as well. Tracey was nosey and pushy and wouldn't let up on something until she got what she wanted. It had led to some nasty fights between the girls. Blaise was sarcastic and hormonal and very secretive, giving away nothing about himself he didn't wish to give.

Harry, however, was different. He was quiet and respectful. He didn't interrupt to ask annoying questions or make sarcastic comments when she was talking. He seemed to actually care about what she said, but, and this was her favorite part, didn't expect her to change.

Tracey was always pushing her to do something about whatever situation she was in and Blaise typically joked about it. Harry just listened though, and gave suggestions if he could. He didn't ask anything of her she didn't want to do and was perfectly content to let her have her secrets. It was refreshing.

She'd found herself becoming completely comfortable, almost too comfortable, in his presence. He was just so... respectful, of her privacy and her emotions and just everything, and she felt her mask crumbling bit by bit every time he smiled.

She had it so bad. It didn't hurt that he was bloody hot. Six months of physical exercise and eating right had only helped his figure more. His shoulders had broadened, his muscles swelled, his figure had become more chiseled, and he had grown another inch or two. His hair reached just past his ears and was a shaggy, sexy mess. And his eyes, they were simply marvelous. Oh, she had it so very, very bad.

A growl brought her out of her reverie and back to the problem at hand. While her form had been simple, Harry was having a harder time. The problem was, when he'd merged with his core he'd only seen his form for a fraction of a second. He'd thought it was a leopard or tiger but couldn't really tell.

Despite not knowing its exact anatomy he'd had enough knowledge to self-transfigure most of his body. He was still having difficulties with his tail and head though.

"It's my head. I just can't get it to change. I keep thinking about the animal I saw but it wasn't facing me so I don't know what it looks like." A few minutes later he gave up and changed back, landing on the floor in an undignified heap. "It's no use, not until I know what my form is."

"You haven't seen it again?"

"Nope, just that one bit. I've got all my memories sorted, too."

"Hmm. Alright, I haven't checked on your shields in a while. Why don't I take the time to check them? Who knows, maybe I'll get lucky and find your form on my way." He nodded his consent and sat in the lotus position on the floor. Emerald eyes met sapphire ones and locked.

"Legilimens." She was in his mindscape standing in front of his core. The first time she'd seen it she'd been shocked by its strength, but by now she was used to it. Glancing around she realized it was the only thing there, so, after taking a deep breath she stepped inside.

Within seconds she was suffocating under the pressure of his magic. She was pretty sure that this wasn't even one of his defenses. His core was just so strong that it was almost impossible to get through. Energy crackled around her and she was so overpowered she couldn't move.

She was opening her mouth to scream in agony when a hand appeared and tugged her in.

It felt like she had entered a bubble, or perhaps left one. The pressure around her was suddenly gone and she fell to her knees in relief. After catching her breath she looked up into the eyes of mind-Harry. He winked at her and disappeared back into the walls of his core.

Examining the room, she found there was once again only one thing in it; a small black chest covered in silver chains and radiating danger. The contrast between the white room and black trunk only seemed to add to that sense of danger.

Slowly she walked towards it and cast a detection spell. Placed on the trunk were dozens of wards and curses that would harm but not kill anyone who touched it. Grinning, she slowly began countering each curse and ward, almost all of which she had personally taught him.

At last the chains were off and the only thing left was a simple reminder charm, which caused the victim to suddenly remember something else they had to do and leave the area. With a smirk she cast the counter and lifted the lid.

Suddenly the room grew cold and her heart began to race. Her worst memories flashed across her eyes and she unconsciously began to cry. Her mother screaming for her uncle just before he was struck with a cutting curse to the neck, her sister lying on a bed, pale and unmoving, her father yelling at her angrily for pushing her down the stairs, her mother sobbing on his shoulder. It was horrible. It was a dementor. Sure enough a floating black specter floated out of the trunk and began to move towards her.

Unconsciously she backed up several steps before she was pushed against the wall, cursing the smallness of the room. Remembering herself she pulled out her wand and tried to focus on a happy memory. It was too strong, though, the dementor was too close. Her mother's sobs filled her ears and with only seconds remaining before her mind avatar would be kissed she abruptly withdrew from Harry's mind, gasping and trembling on the floor on the chamber.

As tears welled in her eyes she felt strong arms gather around her and pull her close. Harry. With a choked sob she wrapped her arms around him and buried her head in his shoulder. Strong hands caressed her back and a soft voice whispered reassurances in her ears. Still she cried.

It had been years since she had visited that memory. She had only been eight years old when it had happened. Astoria had annoyed her somehow and in her anger she had forgotten where they were and she pushed her. She could still hear Astoria's bones crack as she toppled down the stairs, her tiny body uttering a scream before it lay still and silent.

She had never seen her parents that upset. It was the first and last time her father had ever yelled at her and the first and last time she'd seen her mother cry. It was a miracle that Tori had lived. The doctors hadn't been sure she would, but she was strong and pressed through it. When she woke up she hadn't remembered a thing, but Daphne had, and she'd had nightmares for weeks.

The news had spread rapidly and the first time she'd been in a social situation after the accident had been in a corner of her father's ball room being sneered at by the other children who kept called her a murderer. The next week she'd developed her Ice Queen mask and hadn't let it down since.

It took twenty minutes for her to finally calm down and relax enough to sit up on her own. Still, Harry held his arms around her loosely, his emerald eyes filled with worry and guilt.

"I'm so sorry Daph. I should have warned you about the dementor, or put something less deadly there. I'll change it immediately. I'll-"

"Don't," she rasped, her throat sore from all the crying. "Don't change it. It's good. Really good. Good enough to keep out Voldemort even." He was quiet at that, his hands still rubbing circles on her back. She wasn't even sure he knew he was doing it but she wasn't going to ask him to stop.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," he said seriously, his hands stilling and tightening slightly. "I never wanted to hurt you." He was really close to her. Just inches separated them. Just inches.

"I'm sorry, too," she said, trying to pull herself together. She quickly wiped off her face and sat up straighter, though she didn't move farther away. "I haven't cried like that since I was eight years old. Gosh, I feel like a baby." It was obvious she was embarrassed and uncomfortable and she kept wringing her hands nervously. He put his own hand over hers to stop her.

"You shouldn't. Dementors are nasty things."

"Yah but still, I'm not usually like that. I mean, it's just a dementor, right?"

He met her eyes again and she almost gasped at the pain reflected in them.

"I hear my parents' murder when the dementors are near." At that she did gasp and then leant closer to give him a hug. She was too tired, too traumatized to put her walls back up.

"I'm so sorry." He nodded and hugged her back, but didn't say anything. After a few minutes she spoke again. "I see my sister falling down the stairs. I pushed her when I was eight. She almost died. And she doesn't even remember."

"I'm sorry." She nodded but didn't speak. What was there to say?

They sat like that, curled together on the floor, backs against the wall, completely silent, offering each other comfort the best they could, for nearly a half hour.

After a while Harry noticed it was getting late and pulled Daphne to her feet.

"Come on. Some sleep with do us both some good." She nodded and followed him back to the living area, her hand still in his. Before he left her for the night he leaned in close and pressed his lips softly against hers in a gentle good night kiss.

"Night Daph," he whispered. Then he disappeared into his room and she into hers. Unknowingly, both fell asleep with smiles on their faces.

The next morning she wasn't sure how to act. Things had changed between them, or had they? He had kissed her last night. It had been short and quick but it was still a kiss. And she hadn't detested it. In fact, she would be okay with another one.

But would he? What did the kiss mean to him? Was it a promise for the future, a kiss between friends, something to make up for the emotional drainage of the evening? Did it even mean anything to him? She hated herself for acting all girly and overanalyzing the situation, but she couldn't help it. Things had been going so well between them. She didn't want that to end because of one kiss.

Harry sensed her problem as soon as he saw her for their morning run. Giving her a grin he parroted her words to him before. "Nothing's changed, you know. We'll still train here, I'll still smack down Dumbledore, and together we'll kill the dark lord. That's that." Then he kissed her again, this time for a little longer, and she smiled. Everything was okay again.

"Right then. We should get training. We have a dark lord to kill after all."

Later that afternoon they met at their usual spot in the library, having moved their lessons together there since it was more comfortable. Things had gone well in lessons thus far. They'd even managed to score a hit on Iron fist and to dodge most of his curses. She only been thrown once, Harry twice, and they hadn't even broken anything! Alas, all good things must come to an end, and this seemed as good a time as ever.

Taking a deep breath she prepared herself for the oncoming battle.

"I want to try Legilimency again." Emerald eyes snapped towards her in shock, fear and surprise showing before Harry managed to get his shields in place. He stared at her for several minutes, his face expressionless, before he finally responded.

"You sure?" She nodded resolutely, covering her surprise. She'd expected more of an argument.

"Alright then. I trust you to know your limits." And with that he took his position and looked towards her, ready to begin. She couldn't stop herself from grinning. She really had gotten lucky to get such a good guy.

Wiping the grin off her face she got serious. "Alright. Today I want to try something different. We've already determined that I can't get through your defenses. You, however, can. What I want you to do is to take me through your defenses with you and then work with me to find your animagus form. You understand?" He nodded.

"Right then. Legilimens." Once again she appeared in an empty space in front of Harry's core. This time, though, he was with her. Linking their hands they walked through the walls and into the inner room.

"The trunk is just a decoy," he said after seeing her worried glance towards it. "The real memories are actually hidden in the walls. Each strand of memory is a strand of magic that builds up the walls. In order to see them you need a penseive and a wand. That's it." To further explain he dipped his wand into the walls, bringing out a silver colored strand, and placed the memory in the penseive that suddenly appeared.

Walking over, Daphne stuck a finger in the silvery liquid and was sucked into a memory. She and Harry were dressed in exercise clothes and headed outside. "Weather charms are linked to the wards," she heard herself explain. "There are many different levels of the charm. The strongest ones allow you to control every aspect of weather all the time. Those take a lot of power, though, and can drain a wizard dry. The ones we use have bounds. If it gets too hot or cold or what not, the charms are activated and moderate the weather. If they aren't needed they lie dormant and recharge."

"Like a battery," he'd asked confusedly.

"What's a battery," she responded.

"Purebloods," he'd said, rolling his eyes.

Then she was pulled out of the memory and back to the inner room.

"You know, you never did explain to me what a battery is." He simply grinned at her.

"Another time, maybe, but for now let's find my form." He placed the memory back the walls, watching it turn white and blend in as it went back in, before reaching in and grabbing another strand. "This is all I remember, consciously at least, of my form." Placing it in the penseive he placed his finger in, Daphne following right behind him.

The first thing she noticed was that it was dark. The second thing was that it was cold! She shivered and pulled her robes tighter around herself. A twig snapped to her right and she jumped, drawing her wand and dropping into a crouch as a reflex.

"Relax. It's just my form. It won't hurt you. It doesn't even come this way." She stood and looked to where he was pointing. Up ahead was some type of feline. It had thick, black fur with silvery gray spots like you would see on a leopard's coat. Except it definitely wasn't a leopard. It was too big. A typical leopard doesn't stand more than two feet off the ground. Harry's form had to have stood at least four feet off the ground and weigh a good seven hundred pounds.

It was shaped like a tiger but obviously differed in size and fur pattern. Seeing it now she was impressed that Harry had managed so much of the transformation. Like he'd said, she couldn't see its head at all. Feeling brave she grabbed Harry's hand and walked towards the beast. Harry tugged her to stop but she resolutely kept on going. She was practically dragging him when it happened. She stepped on a twig, causing a loud SNAP, and the beast whipped its head around.

Harry had been right, it was definitely not a leopard. It wasn't even a normal tiger. For one it was too big. For another, no tiger had fangs that long.

Suddenly they were pulled out of the memory and then back out into the real world, (not real time mind you, but real world).

"Woah." They both looked rather shocked, Daphne more so because she actually knew what it was.

"Yeah, whoa. But what was it? It definitely wasn't a leopard, or even a tiger. Do you have any ideas?"

"Wait a sec." Daphne jumped up and ran around the library, looking for the right book. Finding it she jogged back over and sat down, right on Harry's lap. "You're not gonna believe this." Ignoring his further questions she opened the book and turned to page 117.

"I was right. You're a Smilodon." Craning his head over her shoulder he began to read the passage.

 _The Smilodon is a large saber-toothed cat that lived during the Pleistocene era (2.5 million years ago-10,000 years ago_ _). It is most famous for its eleven inch long canines which were slender and finely serrated. The largest of the Smilodon species, S. populator, stood at shoulder height (approx. 4 feet) and weighed up to 900lbs. Smilodon were ambush predators that concealed themselves in dense vegetation before pouncing on their prey, typically large mammals. They became extinct when their food source died out around 10,000 years ago._

"How is this possible? I mean, they haven't lived for 10,000 years. Can an animagus be an extinct species?" Daphne thought for a bit, then shrugged.

"I haven't read anything that says otherwise. I'll admit it's unusual but we both saw what we saw and this," she pointed to the picture in the book, "is definitely it." Harry nodded, conceding the point, then sighed.

"Can't anything I do be normal?" Daphne pretended to think for a moment, putting her fist under her chin in the classic "thinker" pose, and then shook her head.

"Nope." In the aftermath of her answer Harry learned one very important fact about his new girlfriend: she was ticklish.

The next few months practically flew by in a blur of lessons, lessons, and more lessons. Daphne and Harry had been able to consistently outduel Ironfist, both individually and as a team, so Ironfist decided that they were only allowed to cast nonverbally from then on. The healers were extremely displeased when they had to start visiting several times a day again.

Despite the increased challenge in dueling, other lessons were getting easier and some were ending entirely. The healers had decided there was nothing more to teach them in the given time allotment and had left them to self-study, clearing up an extra hour in their afternoons.

They had also done all they could in regards to occlumency, so Daphne had taken to teaching him the lost art of Legilimency. It turned out that he was a natural and soon he was able to blast through Daphne's defenses using both raw power and some sneaky little tricks she had shown him.

Ironfist had also began to teach them apparition. Of course, with Ironfist nothing could be that simple, so he added several impossible requirements. The first was that you couldn't make any noise when apparating. "How are you supposed to sneak up on the enemy when you pop in louder than a cannon," Ironfist had yelled one day.

The next requirement was that you had to do it while disillusioned. When Daphne had told him that wasn't possible, bringing him reference material to back up her arguments, he decided to teach them goblin magic to circumnavigate the issues. The only thing was that Ironfist decided that if they were learning goblin magic, they were learning it the goblin way. Since they were used to his teaching method the transition wasn't hard. It was learning gobbledygook that proved to be a challenge. What sounded like grunts and babble to the wizard and witch were battle commands and formal greetings. After the third stinging hex for accidentally insulting a goblin when trying to ask for help, Harry and Daphne had fled to the library to study up on the language individually.

After two months of goblin studies Harry decided he wasn't suicidal enough so he asked to add even more lessons into their already full schedule, this time from a house elf. His first thought was to call Dobby, but after some thought he decided against it. Dobby was a great elf with great intentions but he tended to go off on tangents and get over excited in Harry's presence. It was Daphne who suggested they speak to the house elves that served the chamber, since they were used to the time change.

The result was lessons from a female house elf named Tinky, who was an especially tiny elf with a high pitched voice and bright purple eyes. Since she was used to serving goblins, who treated them more equally than wizards, she was much less formal and more open to Harry's way of doing things.

She proved to be an excellent teacher and soon taught them elf apparition, which bypassed most wards since wizards didn't think to ward against them, and also telepathy, which is how the house elves spoke to each other. This was much more difficult to master and was proving to be a challenge for them both.

"Sir and miss must listen with their magic, not their ears. Tinky is calling, yous is just not hearing." They had been at it for forty five minutes and so far only Daphne had been able to pick up a few words.

"What do you mean listen with my magic? Should I push it into my ears or something?" Tinky shook her tiny head vigorously.

"Sir and miss must listen to Tinky. Tinky say to not use ears to hear. Must use magic. Must see the connections and join."

"Right, because that made even more sense."

"Tinky is thinking you is being grumpy. Tinky does not like this."

"Sorry Tinky, I'm just frustrated."

"Tinky is understanding this. Tinky will help." With a pop she was by Harry's side and grabbed onto his arm. Suddenly he was viewing his magical core, Tinky standing next to him. "White magic is yours. You is needing to see more than it. Look to Tinky's magic."

With only a vague understanding of what she was asking Harry looked for Tinky's core using a combination of Legilimency and wild magic (simply using his magic without using a spell). Sure enough there was a small bronze core in her head, except unlike Harry's, which was a simple condensed sphere, hers had strands going in and out, making it look like a sun. Or a porcupine. Harry wasn't particularly good at analogies. Anyway.

Reaching for one of the strands he was surprised when he was suddenly transported to another bronze core, which, while similar, was somehow distinct at the same time. _Pipsy is looking for extra work. Is anybody be needing some?_ Not only did he hear the thought/voice of the elf Pipsy, but he instinctively knew she was in a cabin on the French Riviera.

Suddenly one of the threads attached to Pipsy's core shown red and Harry heard another voice. _Jelly be needing help in the kitchens._

 _Pipsy be coming._

Tinky must have ended the spell somehow because he suddenly found himself standing in the library of the chamber once more. "Tinky be helping sir. Sir can help miss now. Tinky must be going now. Sir and miss have learned all that Tinky can teach," and with a pop that would have had Ironfist in fits Tinky was gone.

"Wait, I don't get it!" Daphne actually stomped a foot in frustration, causing Harry to cover up a laugh with a cough. He'd learned that not much really bothered Daphne, but academics and learning were the exceptions. She was crazier about it than Hermione, except she was less judging of others and more of herself. Harry tried to help her understand that she didn't need to be perfect but he wasn't sure he'd gotten through yet. Still, his attempts were fun and always led to passionate snogging, which both of them quite enjoyed.

"Don't worry Daph, I can teach you."

"But thirty seconds ago you didn't get it either!"

"I know, but now I do, which means that you'll have it down in just fifteen seconds." She calmed at this and blushed slightly.

"Sorry, I don't mean to be childish, I just want to be able to do this." Harry smiled at her and gave her a peck on the lips.

"I understand. Come into my inner room and I'll show you what Tinky just showed me." After they'd viewed the memory they both focused on casting out a strand of energy to Tinky. They both succeeded on the first try.

 _Tinky? Can you hear us?_

 _Tinky be knowing that sir and miss be able to learn. Tinky sees great power in yous. Tinky is proud._

 _Thanks Tinky. Can we connect to all elves or just the ones we've met?_

 _Miss and sir must meet the elf before they connect, but elves can add theys own links to yous's._

 _So you could add the links of all the elves you know for us?_

 _Tinky could be doing this, yes._

 _Wow. That's amazing._

 _I agree. Harry, can you hear me?_

 _Yah. Tinky, can you hear us both?_

 _Tinky be hearing yous since link still open. To turn it off yous just need to want it to be off._ Harry focused on shutting the link between him and Tinky and then tried thinking to Daphne again.

 _Alright. Daph, can you hear me?_

 _Yes. This is amazing. I can't even begin to describe the advantages of it! I mean, can you imagine being able to talk to each other in front of Voldemort, or being able to contact each other no matter where they are? Wait, Tinky? Oh darn, I turned her off. Hold on._

 _Tinky?_

 _Yes miss?_

 _Is there a range on this?_

 _Tinky is not understanding miss's question. Tinky is sorry._

 _It's alright Tinky. Let me rephrase. Can you call an elf no matter where they are or do they have to be close to you?_

 _Tinky can only be calling elves she knows, but Tinky only knows elves nearby. Tinky be thinking that master and miss can reach far away because they is so strong. Did Tinky answer miss's question?_

 _Yes Tinky, thank you._

As they ended their connection Daphne was immediately brought into a long kiss by Harry.

"Now that I'm complaining," she panted after they parted, "but what was that for?" He grinned down at her, a light in his eye.

"I can do it. I can beat him." Seeing her scowl he immediately amended his statement. " _We_ can beat him."

"You are Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble Houses of Potter, Black, Peverell, Gryffindor, Slytherin, and Ravenclaw, the Boy-Who-Lived, Tri-Wizard champion, and my boyfriend. You can do anything." After a moment she added, "Except, of course, grow foot long fangs."

His grin changed abruptly to a scowl and he glared at her. Daphne had completed her animagus transformation the other day and had been seen flying over the chamber several times already. When Harry had sent her to spy on Ironfist to see if they could prank him, (they were _really_ sick of his lessons), he had promptly dubbed her "Scout".

Daphne had teased him in response, saying maybe she should call his form "toothless". It was no secret that Harry had been struggling with his form. He'd gotten the body down pat and could grow a reasonably accurate tail, but the head was giving him problems, or, more specifically, the teeth. He had visualized the fangs over and over but when he just couldn't figure out how to grow them when he was still half human and changing forms.

At his scowl Daphne laughed and gave him a pat on the back. "Don't worry, Harry, I've managed my transformation, I'll protect you." Her laughter could be heard across the cavern as Harry used his secret weapon: tickling. After all, she may have won the battle, but he would win the war!

* * *

A/N: Here's the links to the image of Harry's form, mind, his coloring is black with green eyes. For Daphne's form a basic google image search will work. For some reason I can't put the link up.

Saber: dk-find-out/image/upload/q_80,w_1440/smilodon_full_


	11. Back to the Fut-uh, Present!

Harry awoke with an unusual sense of anticipation. This was it! Their three hundred and sixty fifth day in the chamber. At exactly 1:00pm real time and 8:00am chamber time the runes surrounding the cavern would leach all the energy from the spells maintaining the time change and their time in the chamber would officially come to an end.

Neither Harry nor Daphne were entirely sure how they felt about this. They were excited to see her family again and to get away from Ironfist (whose skin currently had purple polka dots courtesy of Scout and the newly dubbed _Saber_ ). On the other hand they were sad that their time together was at an end. In the chamber they had spent nearly every waking moment together. They weren't sure how things would change back in the real world but they were sure the level of contact would decrease at least a little.

On top of this, Harry was nervous about the future. His time in the chamber had been extremely relaxing because he could remain relatively unburdened. Yes he was supposed to defeat the dark lord and yes the people he'd trusted most had betrayed him, but none of that had mattered in the chamber.

The chamber was all about training for the future, a distant, undefined future that Harry hadn't liked to think too much about. Yes he would train, overthrow Dumbledore, and defeat the dark lord, but other than that he wasn't sure. And in the chamber it hadn't mattered, after all, no matter what they were stuck there until the year ended. Nothing could hurt them there (except Ironfist), and no one could betray them there. It had been safe.

And now that safety net that he'd grown to rely on for an entire year was going to disappear, to be replaced with the flawed and uncontrollable real world. He would have to face his girlfriend's family, (he wasn't too worried about that given that they'd saved his life and taught him everything he knew, but he was still slightly nervous), face those who he'd thought were his friends (Dumbledore and the Weasley's), those who had been friends that he was now unsure of (Hermione and Remus), Voldemort (who Daphne lovingly called "you-know-who-that's-lost-a-screw-or-two" and Harry called "NoNosemort"), a volatile political environment, sixth year at Hogwarts, and keeping his Slytherin girlfriend happy. He was missing the chamber already.

"Stop worrying. It'll be fine." Harry smiled at his girlfriend and pulled her close in a hug. Whether it was due to the telepathy or the occlumency they weren't sure but ever since a few months ago they'd been able to sense each other's emotions. It had helped Harry to see beyond the mask of the ice queen and helped them better understand and care for each other, but it had also led to a really embarrassing moment when Daphne had suddenly been overwhelmed by sheer euphoria while Harry was in the shower. And then later in his room. And the next morning. Eventually she'd taken matters into her own hands (quite literally). Harry had walked around with a stupid grin on his face for the next three days.

"I know, I just can't help but worry. There's so much we need to do and so much we still don't know. And I don't want to face it yet. I'm not ready." She nodded in understanding and then slapped him across the face.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"Who are you?"

"Oh Daph, not this again." She slapped him again.

"Ow!"

"I said, who are you?"

"Harry Potter." At her glare he rolled his eyes and then stood slightly taller. "I'm Harry Potter, The Boy-Who-Lived, Defeater of the Dark Lord, Tri-Wizard Champion, Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble Houses of Potter, Black, Peverell, Gryffindor, Slytherin, and Ravenclaw."

"And," Daphne prompted. He grinned cheekily at her.

"And boyfriend of Daphne Greengrass, the most beautiful, most intelligent, most Slytherin woman in the whole wide world."

"That's right. Now buck up that Gryffindor courage, stick your nose up in the air, and show me how good a teacher I am." Grinning, Harry threw his nose up in the air and stuck out his arm.

"Mi'lady."

Daphne dipped into an exaggerated curtsy. "Mi'lord." Giggling, the two teens waltzed over to the infirmary to say their final goodbyes.

After all the suspense building up to the time collapse, the actual spell was quite a disappointment. Ironfist simply toughed a series of runes in a specific order, waited a minute, and then opened the door that had suddenly appeared. Daphne vocalized Harry's thoughts when she said, "that's it?"

"Goblins are less flashy than wizards," Ironfist had said dismissively before walking out and greeting his mate and friends.

Shrugging, Harry followed him out of the chamber and over to Ragnok, who was waiting for them nearby. Once within hearing distance Harry and Daphne bowed, baring their necks, and offered the traditional greeting for a goblin of Ragnok's rank.

Ragnok stopped, surprised for a moment, before breaking out into hearty laughter. Daphne and Harry shared a glance; had they said something wrong? Seeing their worried looks Ragnok granted them an explanation.

"Amongst the goblins our ways of life are sacred. We look down upon wizards because they do not show respect to those who do them a service, one of the most insulting things a goblin can do. As I've said before, the breach between our cultures runs deep and strong. For a goblin to teach you, a witch and wizard, our ways is a sign not only of approval but of respect. For Ironfist to do it is unheard of. Earlier I had been wondering how many cases of mead I would be owing him for taking you on. Now it seems as though my vaults will stay full and my premier trainer sober."

Ironfist, who had heard the tail end of their conversation, butted in just then. "Don't be too hasty," he said gruffly. "Someone has to pay for me having to put up with those monsters." Seeing the purple polka dots that adorned Ironfist's pebbly skin, Ragnok once again burst out in laughter.

"I see you have finally met your match, Ironfist. There are not many who could pull one over on the greatest goblin warrior of our time." Ironfist mumbled insults at the guilty party but did not deny Ragnok's accusation.

Valiantly trying to keep from laughing once more, Ragnok turned to Daphne and changed the topic. "I know you must be excited to see your family but there are some things concerning young Harry here that must be discussed first. If you'd like you may wait with your family in the lobby or you may join us. It is your choice."

"Thank you Ragnok, but I'm sure my family can wait."

"Very well then, follow me." With a wave to Ironfist, who made a very rude gesture back at them, they headed off towards Ragnok opulent office. Upon entering they found Griphook waiting with a tea service, several folders balanced on his lap and another, larger stack sitting on the floor to his right.

"Ah! Not more paperwork!" Griphook barked a laugh at that and stood, grasping their forearms in greeting.

"Greetings Harry, I see you've managed to grow some more." Indeed, he had grown another two inches in the chamber and now stood at 6'2". "In regards to the paperwork, have no fear. It won't be anything like last time." Harry was visibly relieved and slumped into a chair, sitting up properly at Daphne's scowl.

"Thank goodness."

As Daphne smacked her face into her palm Griphook lost his battle to hold it in and burst out laughing. "Ah, how I've missed your company, and for a goblin, that's really saying something. Don't worry Ms. Greengrass-"

"Please, call me Daphne."

"Very well then, don't worry Daphne, his father was very much the same way. Always slouching and complaining and only acting properly when the ladies were about. Although you seem to have been spared that agony." She smirked as Harry scowled playfully.

"Alas, he's not quite there yet, but I have faith. And if faith doesn't work, there's always threats, bribery, blackmail…" With another bark of laughter Griphook began reaching for the folders he'd set aside.

"You're a lucky man, Harry."

"I know," he said glumly.

"Yes, well, onto business. First things first, I trust your training went well?"

"Oh Griphook, what an understatement that is. It didn't just go well, it went amazingly. I'll spare you the details since I'm sure Ironfist will be filling you in on those," at the goblins' nods he continued, "but here are the highlights: Daphne and I are now animagi, masters of Occlumency and Legilimency, certified in mediwizardry, practiced in goblin and elven magic and customs, able to outduel Ironfist, both individually and as a team and magically and/or physically, combined and separate, and able to apparate. Personally I have been caught up my family history and taught my proper place in society. There's more but those are the highlights."

Griphook, who had started taking notes as Harry gave his summary, looked up from his parchment with a grin. "I believe then that things went quite wonderfully, indeed. There are a few things that need to be taken care of, however. For one, you'll need to register your animagus forms."

Holding up his hand to stop the impending arguments he added, "We are able to do this in a way where no one in Britain will know them, but you will still be covered legally in case you are exposed." He pulled some parchments out of a folder and handed them to Harry. "Simply fill this in and we'll register them at the International branch of the ICW. Since you are British citizens no one will think to look there, but it's still legal." Harry nodded and passed the form to Daphne, knowing she'd want to look it over. As she read, Griphook continued.

"You'll also be needing an apparition license. This one will be a little more difficult. Legally it poses no problems since you are emancipated and thus of age to take the exam. However, the records are public and I've no doubt that both Dumbledore and the man known as Lord Voldemort will be notified as soon as you pass your exam."

"Don't worry, Griphook, we've a plan for that. It will have to wait a while, but by the time I go back to school I expect the whole world will know of my status."

"Interesting," he remarked curiously, but left it at that. He trusted the two to know what they were doing.

"Indeed. What other problems do you foresee?"

"None just yet, though I have business to speak of concerning your various accounts."

"Very well. I have nothing else to speak of so the floor is all yours."

"Thank you. While you were in the chamber I began the long task of sorting out your finances. While everything here at the bank is up to date, things like investments and loans and debts needed to be reviewed and organized. This," he said, lifting a large tome, "is all of your investments. The first few pages are a summary and suggested changes I think would be profitable." Harry looked at the book offered him in distaste.

"Griphook, I thought I hired you to do all this for me."

"You did, but-"

"But nothing. If there are changes you believe need to be made you have free reign to make them." Both Griphook and Ragnok stared at him with wide, astonished eyes. They had just been given free reign with the finances of the man richer than magical Britain itself.

"Harry, I must remind you that this is a lot of money and power. Are you sure you wouldn't rather do it yourself?" _Are you sure you want a goblin to do it_ was the unspoken interpretation.

"Griphook, Ragnok, you have been nothing but truthful to me and have not only given me the tools to defeat NoNosemort, but saved my very life. I have no reason to doubt your abilities, none at all. Besides, who better to invest my funds than world-class bankers who specialize in, well, banking?"

Griphook stared at him for a moment, then nodded slowly. "As you wish, my Lord."

"Oh Griphook, none of this my lord nonsense. We're friends, aren't we?" He received a genuine goblin smile in response.

"Indeed we are, Harry." Snapping back to the task at hand Griphook set down the large binder and reached for another folder. "Very well, I'm happy to say that this will shorten our conversation today immensely. I shall begin the process of ironing out your investments after you've left. For now, let's move on to other matters."

"Your property holdings are ridiculously small compared to your total wealth. I shall be rectifying this situation immediately, but for now let's discuss what you do have. The home at Godric's Hollow was destroyed and made a monument by the ministry. If you'd like we can rebuild it, but I can't imagine that would be all that comfortable, what with all that's happened there." Harry nodded in agreement.

"Hogwarts is of course yours but there are stipulations that go with it. After doing some research I've uncovered these terms to your ownership. You must give suitable warning before changing the curriculum in any way that results in significant changes to the schedule, for either teachers or students. This includes hiring new professors and introducing or abolishing courses. You must allow all viable students to attend and give suitable reason for their expulsion. General punishments should be left up to the staff but you are given final say in any disciplinary actions as long as you are following the by-laws of the school.

This brings me to an interesting point. While you cannot go against the by-laws, you are given total authority over them, which means you may change them at will. If there is a change, however, students must receive three days' notice before you are able to punish them for breaking said rules." Harry and Daphne shared a significant look before turning back to Griphook.

"Finally, while you cannot unrestrainedly interrupt the student's education, the actual building itself will be fully under your command. This includes control of the wards, which I strongly suggest you update as soon as possible." He let silence reign for a few minutes as everyone digested the news. Finally Harry spoke.

"I'll admit we foresaw this as a possibility, but I appreciate being informed of the specifics. You have my guarantee this will be taken into consideration."

"Thank you. Now, while being the owner of Hogwarts guarantees you your own set of suites, I had thought that having an off-campus residence would come in handy. This brings me to the property known as the shrieking shack."

"The little shed in Hogsmeade that's falling apart?" Daphne looked unimpressed at the suggestion of even touching the place, let alone living in it.

"The very one."

"That's actually brilliant, Griphook."

"Harry, you can't be serious."

"Of course not, that was my godfather. Think about it, though. Would you ever imagine someone could actually live in the place, let alone that someone being me?"

"...no."

"Exactly! If we have to make a run for it, it'll be the last place they look! Plus, it has a direct connection to the Hogwarts grounds through a tunnel that goes under the Whomping Willow."

"Saying you could get past the tree that almost killed you in second year, what then? You live in a rundown shack?"

"Daphne, I'm disappointed in you. Are you a witch or what?" She glared at them, then conceded the point.

"Griphook, is there a way to make that place," she said the word place like it was a disease, "habitable by the time school begins?"

"Certainly, Daphne. It may cost a fair amount but we can have the placed fixed up and warded by summer's end."

"Funds are no problem, take all the gold you need, and that goes for the workers as well. Give them an incentive; each day ahead of schedule they'll see a 5% pay raise."

"That should see you having a new house fairly quickly. Is there anything specific you want in regards to living arrangements?" Harry thought for a moment.

"I assume it can be expanded?" Griphook nodded. "Excellent. Can that be done in a way where it still looks the same on the outside? There's no point in making it into a secret home if its construction isn't secret." Griphook nodded thoughtfully.

"It will take some skill, and tweaking of the wards, but yes, it can be done."

"Excellent. Here's what I want then: at least four bedrooms, all of a decent size, and each with their own bath. A fully stocked kitchen and dining room, on the first floor, adjacent to each other. A sitting room. Magical heating as well as fireplaces. One connected to the floo, but only if it can be done under the radar. A library, so I don't need to keep all my books in my trunk, and if possible a large basement suitable for dueling." Griphook finished writing that done and nodded.

"That can be done. What were you wanting in regards to the wards?" Daphne spoke up then, seeing Harry was at a loss.

"Anti animagus," she began, still outraged by the tales she'd heard of Rita Skeeter, "fire-proof, sensory all the way out to the fence, warding stones around the building, blood bonded to Harry himself, anti-apparition and portkey, confundus, anti-phoenix, a dark mark detector and repellant, and the strongest set of protection wards you can place."

"You can ward against the dark mark?"

Ragnok himself answered this. "Wards can be attuned to accept or reject specific magical signatures. Since the dark mark is only made by one wizard and thus all share the same signature we can, in theory, create wards specifically to keep them out." The implications of this were enormous and Harry asked the first thing that came to mind.

"Can you create those wards for Hogwarts, too?"

"Hogwarts offers a bit of a dilemma. The wards there are very much a patchwork of spells, some left over from the time of the founders and some created by headmasters since then. Ever since Dumbledore took over the quality of education has decreased and so have the strength of the wards. I would imagine that they couldn't stand up to a full front attack for very long, if at all.

However, in regards to your question, only the headmaster or a founder's heir can institute changes of the wards. This is a preventative measure that certainly has its benefits but works against us in this case. Even if you gave your permission, we could not get goblins, or anyone, to put up new wards. That must be done by you."

Ragnok then stepped in with a solution. "Actually, I might be able to offer some advice in that regard. I'm unaware if we have it, but it was rumored that the founders, more specifically Rowena Ravenclaw, wrote a book on the Hogwarts wards and how to adjust them."

At the mention of this book Harry's Ravenclaw ring warmed slightly and an image that was not his own came to the front of his mind. He was looking at a large tapestry depicting a classroom full of children reading individually. At the front of the room stood a teacher with dark hair and a pinched face. It rather reminded him of McGonagall.

Suddenly the tapestry moved to the side, bearing the plain stone wall for all to see. Curious, Harry reached out his hand to find that it went straight through the wall, just like at platform 9 ¾. Stepping through completely he found himself in a small library practically overflowing with books. Following a glow on his right he walked down the bookshelves until he stood in front of a golden, glowing book titled _Hogwarts: An Owner's Manual_.

"Harry?" At Daphne's voice Harry snapped back to reality, a grin on his face.

"How convenient. Ravenclaw's ring has just alerted me to the location of the warding book. It's at Hogwarts." Seeing Daphne's questioning glance he shook his head. He'd explain later.

"Very well then. We'll devise a ward scheme for the shrieking shack and then let you know how it goes. Hopefully you can use the ward scheme knowledge to change Hogwarts's wards. Speaking of the shrieking shack, might I also suggest warding the floo and the tunnel entrance." At Harry's nod he added that to the list.

"Very well, this all looks good. I'll contact a warding crew first thing and have the basics installed, especially the notice-me-not, before hiring a construction crew. It will be tight but I think I can have it done a few weeks before you go back to school. This way you can get everything settled in before the semester begins.

Now, on to the last property, number 12 Grimmauld place-"

"Don't worry about that one just yet," Harry interrupted. "I have plans for it, but they need to wait awhile." Again Griphook accepted this without question.

"Very well, that's all I had to discuss. Was there anything else on your agenda?"

"Yes, actually. Look into who owns the majority of stock in the Daily Prophet, and buy it out if you can. Discretion would once again be paramount."

"I'll see what I can do."

"Excellent. I believe that concludes our business for today. You may owl me with any further concerns you have. Otherwise I'll be seeing you in a few weeks to update you on phase one of my plans. I wouldn't want you to feel left out, after all." He smirked and then stood.

"May your vaults overflow and your enemies die horribly," Ragnok said in a traditional goblin goodbye. The grin he received in response was positively feral.

"Don't worry, Ragnok, they will." With that he was gone, Daphne following just behind him.

"Working with him is going to be the most fun I've had in ages," Griphook muttered.

"For you and me both," Ragnok added thoughtfully.

Harry didn't even have to bother looking for his girlfriend's family. As soon as he stepped into the foyer he was hit by a brown haired, blue eyed missile. The shriek she gave as she spied him had his ears ringing for several minutes afterwards. "Harry!"

Laughing, he hugged Astoria back and then flung her over his shoulder, tickling her mercilessly.

"Aha! I see that being ticklish runs in the family!"

"Actually, we're not sure where they got it from. Neither of us are ticklish," Cyrus said. Evelyn looked suspiciously guilty at his statement, but Harry didn't comment. After a few more seconds of shrieking laughter Harry righted little Tori and sat her back down. After regaining her balance she grinned up at him.

"That was fun! I missed you guys! How did your training go?" Glancing around at the relatively full atrium, Daphne shook her head and mumbled "not here". Nodding seriously Tori stepped back and allowed Evelyn to hug first her daughter and then Harry.

"Hello dears, you both look amazing." She wasn't talking about physical appearances either. There was a light in her daughter's eyes that she hadn't seen since she was a child. It warmed her heart knowing that Daphne had finally opened up to someone. The last few years had been lonely for her, even if she wouldn't admit it.

"Thanks," Harry said with a grin. "Shall we head out?"

"Sure dear. Was there anywhere you wanted to go before we head back to the manor?"

"No, we're both fine."

"Alright then, let's head to the apparition point." It did not escape her notice that Harry reached for her daughter's hand before remembering himself and pulling back. Still, the two walked rather closely together down the lane.

"How shall we do this? Daphne first?"

"Actually, Daphne and I can go on our own, so all you need to worry about is Tori."

"You have your apparition licenses already?"

"Well, no, but don't worry, the ministry can't detect us." They would be using house elf apparition, which went unmonitored by the ministry.

"Alright," Evelyn said reluctantly, before reaching for her daughter and disappearing with a pop.

"You two go ahead and I'll follow behind." In reality Cyrus wanted to be there to collect any splinched body parts- apparition was not something to be taken lightly. The two teens nodded and disappeared without a sound.

At first he thought they'd simply disillusioned themselves but then when he couldn't find the telltale shimmer of the charm, realized that they'd already gone. Mouth hanging open in shock, Cyrus half-heartedly gave a turn and appeared in his home to find Harry and Daphne sitting on the sofa, chatting away with his youngest daughter. Evelyn was looking at the two with very much the same face he was. Apparating silently was pretty much unheard of.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Cyrus shared a look with his wife. Clearly they'd learned more in that chamber than dueling and etiquette.

"So Harry," he started curiously, "tell us what you learned with the goblins." Harry shared a look with Daphne, who grinned in response.

"Actually, Cyrus, I think it would be easier to show you." Cyrus, who was still in shock after seeing the Slytherin Ice Queen smile so openly, just nodded dumbly and followed the pair out into the back clearing by the woods.

With a synchrony of partners who'd done it hundreds of times Harry and Daphne began setting up a dueling area, Harry transfiguring the field and Daphne setting up the shields. As they worked they wove around each other in a practiced dance, never once bumping into the other. They hadn't even started dueling yet and Cyrus was already impressed. From the looks on his wife's face, he wasn't the only one.

At last their work was finished and a fully functional dueling arena had appeared in his backyard. It stood about fifty feet long and twenty five feet wide and was littered with objects such as trees, statues, rubbish, and even a small creek.

Harry and Daphne nodded to each other and then made their way to opposite ends of the field. Cyrus, seeing the signs, stepped forward and called out a countdown. On three he sent up red sparks from his wand and stepped back, away from the slightly shimmering shields that would prevent stray spells from hitting the audience.

Both teens immediately disillusioned themselves and silenced their footsteps. Cyrus watched the ground carefully, finally noting the small movement of grass on Daphne's side of the arena. Apparently he wasn't the only one who noticed as suddenly a beam of red light shot out of nowhere and blasted a hole in the ground just behind the small disturbance.

Instantly a figure was visible and dirt and dust rained down upon the disillusioned form. Seeing that she'd been spotted Daphne dropped the disillusionment and dove behind a low stone wall, rolling and coming up in a crouch. She began waving her wand in movements Cyrus didn't recognize and pointing at various areas around her.

After a few minutes she snapped her head around and began firing what looked to be globs of red paint at an area thirty feet to her left. To Cyrus's shock an arm appeared out of thin air, along with a now red foot.

Cursing softly Harry dove for the stream, rolling to duck under a spell and smearing red paint along the grass. Daphne, following the paints path, stood and began firing curse after curse at a small red shoe by the stream. Creeping closer she realized too late that the shoe was no longer attached to a human.

A pink spell hit her in the back, causing her to burst out in laughter. Muttering a finite Daphne turned and grinned. By coming out in the open to attack her Harry had made his position known. Quickly she began to cast.

Cyrus was amazed at the speed the teens were firing spells at. It seemed like the first one hadn't even left the wand before another was being cast, and some wand movements flowed right into each other, both finishing one curse and starting another. He couldn't even keep track of who was throwing what, as some of these spells he'd never seen before and the teens were either whispering their spells or casting them silently.

Daphne, who'd been getting closer and closer to Harry, who'd dropped his disillusionment after being hit with a mild cutter that caused a small gash to appear on his forehead, suddenly did something Cyrus had never witnessed before. As Harry went to cast what looked to be another stunner Daphne dropped low and dove at him.

Harry, who'd expected her to shield, was taken by surprise and one hundred twenty pounds crashed into his legs, causing him to topple over. Thinking quickly he shoved his wand back into his holster and rolled over, attempting to trap Daphne beneath him.

Daphne, however, was prepared for this and quickly jumped out of his reach, coming to her feet. Harry followed her lead and leaped up, throwing a punch that Cyrus was sure would break his princess's nose. To his surprise not only did Daphne catch his fist, but she shoved it away and swept Harry's legs out from under him.

Using his momentum to roll away Harry quickly jumped to his feet and caught Daphne's punch, using her own momentum and some leverage to toss her over his shoulder. As she hit the ground she rolled but was hit with an expelliarmus from Harry.

Cyrus relaxed, assuming the fight was over, but gasped when he saw his daughter jump to her feet and start to cast wandlessly and nonverbally. She accioed Harry's foot, taking him by surprise, before pouncing on him and wrestling both wands out of his grasp, tossing them over her shoulder.

From their they both rolled around, each trying to get a hold on the other, before Daphne was suddenly sitting on top of Harry, pinning his arms above his head and using her feet to hold his legs down. Cyrus once again thought the duel to be over but with a monstrous roar Harry changed into the biggest damn tiger he'd ever seen, flinging his daughter three feet into the air.

Cyrus held his breath as his daughter neared a tree, then breathed in relief and surprise and she twisted and suddenly a beautiful gray hawk owl was flying away, the tiger's eyes following its every move. With a cheerful chirp the owl dove for the wands that lay forgotten in the dirt. The tiger realized her intentions a second too late, pouncing on empty air and the owl soared away with a victorious cry. Settling in a tree the owl changed back into Daphne and pointed both wands at the tiger.

"Yield," she said, breathing heavily. The tiger growled, his hackles raised, and tensed to pounce. "Yield," she said again, this time for forcefully. The tiger gave a grin, baring its foot-long fangs, and suddenly dashed away behind a nearby tree. Daphne swore softly as Harry disappeared, standing to get a better vantage point.

Setting the wands down in the crook of the tree she reached for the next branch up, never noticing the man appear in the tree behind her suddenly. In fact, she only realized he was there when he pressed his wand into her neck and gleefully said, "Yield." Sighing, she nodded and the wand disappeared. Turning she looked into Harry's grinning, sweaty face and she couldn't help but smile.

"What is that, ten for me?" She rolled her eyes.

"Please, last count was six, and I beat you before we left, putting the score at five."

"Fine, six then," he said with a grin. "Do I get a prize?"

She smiled softly and leaned in, moving her face close to his and her hands to his chest. As Harry moved to close the distance between their lips she gave an evil grin and pushed, causing Harry to fall heavily out of the tree with a cry of "hey!" Chuckling she climbed down and offered him a hand up.

"Too easy," she said smugly as his hand connected with hers. Harry scowled at her, then smirked, and Daphne suddenly found herself falling, Harry's hand guiding her landing. With a soft "oof" she fell on top of him, her scowling face looking directly into his grinning one.

"You're not the only one who can play dirty," he said playfully, his hands coming up to rest on her lower back.

"Really," she purred, leaning in a bit closer.

"Ahem." Startled both teens jumped apart, each blushing madly before their masks clicked into place almost simultaneously.

"Woah, can you teach me how to do that?!" Astoria's excited yell broke the awkward silence and both teens stood, cheeks still slightly pink.

"Which part?"

"All of it!" The whole group laughed and moved back inside, Astoria chattering excitedly about their duel and barely stopping to breathe before continuing on with her chatter.

Settling into the den Harry and Daphne gave a full explanation of their time in the chamber, ending with the fact that they'd been dating for almost six months.

Harry was unsurprised when Cyrus schooled his features and asked him for a private moment in his office. Harry nodded, shared a hopefully reassuring look with Daphne, and followed him out.

Once they were settled, Cyrus in a comfy arm chair and Harry on a very unstable and uncomfortable wooden one, the speech that all boys fear began.

Actually, what really began was a ten-minute long staring contest. You see, Cyrus had had a speech all planned out since the day Daphne was born. It included death threats, threats to remove certain appendages, and demands to treat his daughter properly. The problem was, he couldn't really do that now. Harry would kick his arse in a duel, magical or muggle, and Daphne wouldn't let him get away with anything she didn't like. So all he was left with was an imposing stare.

"So...," he began after he realized neither of them would look away.

"Yah," Harry responded with a nod.

"Well then, we'd best…"

"Probably."

"Think we've made them nervous?"

"Mmhmm."

"Excellent." He stood, they shook hands, and together rejoined the rest of the family.

As soon as they were within hearing distance Cyrus said, "you remember what I said in there young man."

Harry nodded seriously, trying valiantly not to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. Daphne, sensing his amusement, sent him a MM (mind message, kind of like IM but using telepathy) asking what had occurred. He sent her back the memory of the event, which they'd discovered could be shared for short periods of time since their cores were so comfortable with each other.

As Daphne began to laugh uncontrollably and Harry joined her, Cyrus smiled and hugged his wife closer to him. If anyone had to date his daughter he was glad it was someone that could make her laugh, even if he was pretty sure they were both laughing at him.


	12. The Alliance

Now that they were back in the correct time stream, Harry and Daphne began to put their plan in motion. Their first order of business was to contact Neville. The reasons for this were twofold: the Longbottom's were one of the 12 and had much political clout, and Harry liked to consider Neville a friend.

And so, after they'd eaten breakfast the day after their return, Harry wrote out a formal invitation for a meeting with the Regent of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Longbottom, requesting a meeting at their earliest convenience at a location of their choosing. He signed it Lord Potter, wanting to show them the meeting was important but also keeping some things secret in case they weren't trustworthy. He didn't think they would betray him, but then, he hadn't thought Ron would either.

He received a swift reply inviting him over for tea that afternoon.

The rest of the morning passed without incident, save for an embarrassing moment in training when a cutting hex sliced through Harry's shorts, revealing his superman boxers. A quick reparo and some good natured teasing later training was over and Harry was rushing to his room to shower and dress. He chose to wear his black dress robes trimmed in emerald because they brought out his eyes. His hair, which he'd shortened for practice, he lengthened out to about his shoulders and tied back into a ponytail. Gosh, he loved being a metamorph. Stowing his extra wand in an ankle holster and his custom wand in his sleeve he kissed Daphne goodbye and stepped into the floo shouting "Longbottom Manor".

Stepping gracefully from the fireplace Harry absently brushed soot off his shoulders and eyed his old friend, blatantly ignoring the two wands pointed at him.

Neville looked good. The DA last year had really helped him come into his own and he now stood tall and proud, the epitome of a Gryffindor warrior. He was also holding a new wand in his hand, which Harry was very thankful for. Neville's old wand hadn't suited him at all and was the reason magic had been so difficult for him. The fact that the wand was pointed at himself didn't bother Harry too much, he knew he was more than a match for his fellow Gryffindor.

Nodding in satisfaction, Harry stepped forwards and offered a small bow. "Regent Longbottom, Scion Longbottom, you honor me with your presence." Neville's gran made to move forward to respond but Neville stopped her.

Stepping forward he stood tall. "Who are you," he demanded angrily.

"Neville!" His grandmother looked appalled at his behavior, but Neville wasn't taking any chances with their safety.

"Sorry gran, but if I know one thing it's that that," he gave a sharp point with his wand at the man standing in front of him, "isn't the Harry I know and trust."

Inside Harry was nearly shouting in joy. It bothered him not that Neville didn't recognize him, after all, he had changed significantly. He was just glad that Neville had taken his lessons to heart. He could practically hear Moody saying "constant vigilance!" Plus, Neville had said that he trusted him! Meeting Neville's eyes, he gave a small grin.

"You are correct in your statement Scion Longbottom. I am not the Harry you knew. In fact, the Harry you knew is dead and gone, never to be seen again." Pain flashed through Neville's eyes, followed by rage.

"What did you do to him," he hissed. A warm feeling encompassed Harry as a new thought entered his mind: "he cares". His actions, his words, they were that of a true friend. The pain in his eyes had been real; Neville cared for him. That was all Harry needed to know.

"That, my dear friend, is what I'm here to discuss." Before Neville could respond Harry lifted his wand and said, "I, Harry James Potter, do swear on my life and magic that I am who I say I am and intend no harm upon anyone in this room. So mote it be." A golden flash surrounded him and vanished before he lifted his wand and said, "Lumos". Sure enough his wand glowed and Neville finally relaxed, though his face still reflected his confusion.

"Harry?" Neville was looking searchingly at who he thought a stranger when the man grinned Harry's lopsided grin and it all clicked in his head. Stowing his wand Neville stepped forward and caught his friend up in a hug. "Blimey Harry, you scared the crap out of me. What on earth _happened_ to you?"

Harry hugged him back and smiled down at him. "It's a long story mate. A story not for prying ears." Harry's smile was replaced by a serious expression and he slowly drew his wand. Turning to Neville's gran, he gestured to his wand and said, "May I?"

The regal old woman looked at him for a moment, then nodded. "There is no one here who wishes you harm and the manor is well protected, but if it would make my lord at ease, then please do whatever you wish, within reason, of course." Nodding, Harry threw up a few privacy spells, goblin ones that Ironfist had taught him.

"Thank you madam. I'm sure what you say is true, but one can never be too safe. Now, I'm afraid I have some rather shocking information to share, so wouldn't you please take a seat?" Augusta Longbottom looked slightly offended at her guest making himself at home, but followed his advice anyway. If even half of what she'd heard was true, Harry Potter was not someone to cross lightly.

"There's no good way to ease into it, so I'm just going to jump right in." Starting with his visit to Gringotts, Harry explained most, but not all that had happened to him. He decided the goblin time chamber should stay secret, as should his relationship with Daphne and his full heritage. Everything else, though, was included, as it was all important, especially the horcruxes. Harry wanted to show that Voldemort was a monster for making it, and Dumbledore a monster for leaving it in. He needed his friend to be on relatively neutral ground.

"All of these revelations bring me here today. As a member of the 12, I wanted to meet my fellow peers. As a friend, I wanted to check up on Neville and assure I could trust him. I'm very proud to say that I can."

"Of course you can, Harry! I'm behind one hundred percent, no matter what. So I declare as the Scion of the House of Longbottom." A golden glow encompassed everyone in the room before disappearing once more.

Harry, recognizing the importance of what had just happened, stood and swore allegiance to house Longbottom, creating a magically binding alliance between the two houses that would last generations. Augusta, looking at her grandson in both shock and respect, finally stood and offered her personal oath that she would help Harry any way she could, including keeping his secrets.

It was Neville's turn to gape at her. At his look she smiled and said, "anyone my grandson supports is worthy in my book." Neville actually had tears in his eyes at that. It had taken so long to gain his grandmother's respect; he was extremely proud.

"Thank you, madam. This means more to me than you can imagine. Our society is a festering ground for dark wizards and breeds bigotry and hate. Things need to change, and it is my duty to change them. However, there are many that will be opposed to the changes I'm planning, and I'll be needing all the help I can get. It is a great comfort that the House of Longbottom shall be by my side throughout the entire ordeal."

"And we are proud to stand by you," Augusta responded. "However, you underestimate our political power. In order for the 12 to make any official decisions, their needs to be a majority vote. With only 3 of the 12 active, that isn't currently possible." Harry grinned at her like the cat that ate the canary.

"I wasn't going to divulge this, but with an official alliance and assurance you're on my side, I find that I can. I am not Lord Potter, or better put, not _merely_ Lord Potter. A recent inheritance test at Gringotts has revealed that I am indeed Lord Harry Potter Black Peverell Gryffindor Slytherin Ravenclaw. Not only am I ridiculously wealthy, but I hold six votes on the 12. With two lines dead, I _am_ the majority vote."

For a while all Neville and his gran could do was stare at Harry in shock. Their minds had still been reeling from the revelations about Dumbledore and the Weasley's and then Harry had gone and broken the government.

Finally, Neville started to laugh. "Only you, Harry. Only you!" Harry grinned at him at him sheepishly, then smirked.

"Did I also mention that I'm dating Daphne Greengrass?" This time both Longbottom's laughed at the hilarity of it all. After a few minutes they finally settled down and Harry stood.

"I understand I've given you a lot to think about in a very short amount of time. Please understand that there is no rush and I'm not expecting miracles. Just having a friend I can count on is enough." He shot a smile at Neville before continuing. "I've a dinner date with Daphne I can't miss and must be going. In a few days I'll be issuing invitations for a group meeting of all the living members of the 12. That's where most of our plans will be made. I'll owl you as soon as I can with a time and place. Once again, I can't thank you enough for what you've done for me today. Please let me know if there's anything I can do for you."

After exchanging goodbye's Harry flooed away, leaving Augusta and Neville behind and still slightly catatonic.

"Well, gran, I think our lives are about to get a lot more interesting." Augusta couldn't help but agree with her grandson. And to think, it was just the beginning.

The next day Harry repeated the previous day's actions, sending an owl to the Bones' residence in place of the Longbottom's. Once again he received a swift response. Since it was the weekend both women were home and invited him over for brunch. Dressing in his green and silver dress robes this time, Harry once again flooed away, growing ever more thankful for Evelyn's flooing lessons.

"Hello Susan." Susan turned to the handsome young man that had just stepped out of her floo. Auntie hadn't told her who was coming, only that he was important. He seemed to know her, but he didn't look familiar. There was something about those eyes, though, and that smile…

"Harry?" The man in question grinned and nodded.

"In the flesh."

"Merlin, Harry, you look great!"

"Thanks," he answered with a laugh. "I feel great. How have you been?"

"Not as good as you apparently. What happened to you?"

"I'm afraid that a long story. If you'll give me a moment I'll try to explain." After her nod he turned to Amelia, who had just entered the room, and bowed, offering a formal greeting.

"Regent Bones, you honor me with your presence." Amelia snorted and waved his greeting off, though he noticed her wand was still discreetly pointed in his direction.

"None of this lady or regent stuff, just call me Amelia."

"Amelia, then. Please call me Harry."

"I must say Harry, my niece's description doesn't do you justice." At that Harry laughed.

"Don't blame her too much, I've changed quite drastically over this summer. In fact, that's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Well please, come in. I'll just have to add you to the wards." At his questioning glance she explained further. "This room is actually separate from the main house. Even though its password protected and open only to those I allow access, it's still not as safe as I like, so I came up with the idea of adding a separate floo room. That way if anyone breaks the wards and floos in uninvited, they still won't be able to access the main house."

Nodding his understanding, Harry stood still as Amelia pointed her wand at him.

"Before adding you, I must insist on a wizard's oath confirming your identity and intentions." Nodding, he slowly drew his wand and repeated yesterday's oath.

"I, Harry James Potter, do swear on my life and magic that I am who I say I am and intend no harm upon anyone in this room. So mote it be." A golden flash surrounded him and vanished before he lifted his wand and said, "Lumos". At the bright light produced Amelia finally relaxed slightly and keyed him temporarily into the wards.

"Thank you Harry. Please, take a seat." She led the way into a small home office and took a seat behind a large oak desk. Susan sat in a chair to the left, so Harry sat in the one to the right. "Now, what's this about?"

Deciding to jump in headfirst, he responded, "Tell me, Amelia, what do you know of horcruxes?"

It had taken much less time to get the story out a second time and Amelia had been much more thorough in her questioning, several times insisting on viewing some of his memories in a pensieve. Once she'd verified his claims, she'd became more excited than a little kid on Christmas.

"Don't you get it," she'd asked. "We finally have the power to arm my aurors!"

"Not just arm, Amelia. I want to at least triple the numbers and allow the use of everything, even the unforgivables." At that she had actually gotten up and hugged him.

"So what are your specific plans?"

"I've already contacted the Longbottom's and, of course, the Greengrasses. The latter have invited the use of their home in what will basically be a war planning session for the living members of the 12. I've a few errands to run before that can happen, but I was hoping we could meet later this week and discuss further plans then."

"That sounds like an excellent idea. I'll be sure to clear an afternoon for you."

"Thank you very much. I don't think I need to tell you just how important it is that this stay quiet?" Amelia shook her head, as did Susan. "Good. I won't insist on an oath, but I'd like your word that what we've discussed will stay between us for now. It wouldn't do for Dumbledore or Voldemort to get word of our plans just yet."

"I understand." Susan actually gave an oath, but Amelia couldn't due to her oath to the auror department that forbade making any other oaths of allegiance without permission. Still, she gave her word, and after making some small talk Harry returned home, a bright smile on his face. Phase 1 of the plan was complete. Now for phase 2.

"Daphne, I believe we need to visit Gringotts once more. It's time for phase 2."

Ragnok was surprised to see Harry and Daphne so soon, but welcomed them into his office with enthusiasm.

"What can I do for you today Harry?"

"Quite a bit actually. Could you have Griphook join us please? This concerns him as well." Ragnok nodded and soon the Potter family manager was sitting with them in his office.

"Thank you both for seeing us today. I'd like to fill you in on our plans and make a formal request of the goblin nation." Both goblins leaned forwards at that but waited for Harry to continue.

"We've contacted both the Longbottom's and the Bones', all of which have agreed to an alliance of sorts. Getting them together is phase 1 of our plans. Phase 2 is to set the stage for taking down the Death Eaters. That category includes a vote of no confidence for fudge and destroying Voldemort's support base. Which brings me to my request. I'd like to pay you to investigate the finances of potential death eaters and, if you find them guilty, freeze their funds.

It hasn't happened yet, but we hope that by the August Wizengamot meeting, being a Death Eater will be made illegal and equate to treason. Once that happens, you'll be free to seize any vaults of any convicted Death Eaters. With the evidence you'll have gathered you'll be untouchable, and the vaults of some of the richest purebloods will be yours to do with as you please. It's a win-win situation."

Harry and Daphne held their breaths as Ragnok considered their request. The goblins were renowned for remaining neutral in times of war. Harry's request would see that neutrality ending and the goblin's clearly joining the 'light' side of the war. Harry had hoped to persuade them by saying they could keep the funds (which he was sure he could get Amelia to agree to), but goblins were unpredictable and he couldn't be sure his plan would work.

It seemed like years before Ragnok finally spoke. "I recall saying that working with you was going to make life interesting. You have once again proved my point."

The two teens were still holding their breath at this point. Finally Ragnok put them out of their misery. "As friend of the goblin nation you shall have our full support in this matter. Your request is well thought out and beneficial to us both, something a goblin would be very proud of. Therefore, I shall immediately put together a team to go through the accounts of those previously accused of or currently suspected of being death eaters or sympathizers to the cause. Give us the word and we'll cut Voldemort's base right out from under him."

Both teens let out relieved breaths and smiled.

"Thank you very much Ragnok, both for your help and support." Ragnok nodded at them and gave a goblin smile.

"You are more than welcome. It has been a long time since I've had this much fun."

"Indeed. Harry, I may have a way for you to start things sooner than you'd planned." Griphook reached for his ever present financial folder and opened to the middle. After reading a few pages he nodded and gave a feral grin.

"I was correct. By taking the dark mark Lucius Malfoy violated the betrothal agreement between the then Lords Black and Malfoy. This gives you sufficient cause to disband the marriage of Lucius and Narcissa and demand repayment of the Black dowry. The same dowry which makes up about half of the Malfoy fortune."

"Griphook that's genius! We can start chipping away at his funds without waiting for ministry permission!"

"Not only that, but you can do so secretly. He'll simply be told that the current Lord Black demands it to be done, not who said lord's identity is."

"Brilliant!"

"Indeed, but I must warn you that he'll find out soon enough."

"Why?"

"Because they are named in the will of one Sirius Orion Black." Hearing that Harry tensed, memories of his godfather falling through the veil flashing before his eyes. His occlumency training soon came into play, however, and the blank mask he'd perfected came down. Sensing his unease, Daphne slipped her hand into his and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Is there any way to get an early reading of the will, Griphook?" Daphne was hoping to avoid any nasty surprises altogether, but if there were to be any, it'd be better to know before-hand.

"Because Harry is the sole beneficiary and Lord Black he has the right to hear the will early. Shall we do so now?" Slowly Harry nodded, his thoughts mirroring Daphne's.

"Very well." Griphook pulled a piece of parchment out of his folder and began to read.

 _I, Sirius Orion Black, being of somewhat sound mind and amazingly gorgeous body, do hereby confirm that this is my last will and testament._

 _Pup, if you're hearing this then I'm obviously gone, but don't mourn for me because I'm finally with Lily and James again. I'm sure in no time James and I will be pranking the masses and dodging hexes from a disgruntled Lily, so life as usual. I know you'll miss me, and I'll miss you too. You were like my own son, and I can't apologize enough for leaving you with Hagrid that fateful night instead of taking you myself. I'm sure Lily will give be a good smacking for it. Still, never doubt that I loved you and always will. Wherever I end up, know that I'll be watching over you, cheering for your side and laughing at the mayhem you cause. Now go out, find a good girl (or three), prank everyone you can, and live a happy life. That is my final wish for you._

 _Moony, I can't imagine how hard this is for you. I hope you catch that rat bastard and send him up to me so I can have a go at him, too. But most importantly, I hope you find happiness. Take care of Harry now, you're the only one I trust to do so. Find a good girl, settle down, and raise hell every now and again. I don't want to be seeing you too soon, so you'd best fight with everything you have. Know that you'll always be my brother and that I love you, fleas and all._

 _Okay, enough sappy stuff. On to who gets the money! To Remus Lupin I leave 100,000 galleons. Go buy yourself a house and some decent clothes. To Nymphradora Tonks, ha! I can say it now and you can't do anything! To my lovely cousin Nymphie I also leave 100,000 galleons and a plea for the next Lord Black to strongly consider reinstating her and her mother into the Black family. To my fellow pranksters Gred and Forge Weasley I leave 5,000 galleons to help with their joke shop. To Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley I leave 5,000 galleons each in thanks for being such goods friends to my godson. Times are tough and he's going to need all the support he can get, so stay strong and stay with him. To the Weasley family I leave 100,000 galleons in thanks for taking such good care of my godson and being such good friends. To Albus Dumbledore I leave 100,000 galleons for order use in the hopes that you can finally beat the bastard. Finally, to Narcissa Malfoy, I leave 1 galleon and the advice that she leave her good for nothing husband and brat of a son before they take her down with them._

 _Everything else goes to my godson Harry, including the title Lord Black. I hope he uses it to raise some hell and find some happiness. I'll be watching!_

 _Love, Sirius._

Thus ends the will of Sirius Black."

For several minutes Harry was silent. Tears had traced tracks down his cheeks at his godfather's words, first in bittersweet sorrow, then in anger. He'd loved him, like so few had before, and now he was gone. The last of his family, save Moony. The wound that had healed in the chamber was now open and raw once more as Harry mourned the death of his godfather.

Then the rage came, slowly but surely bubbling up inside him and filling him to the brim. He could feel it in every pore, every bones and muscle and limb. It was there, just waiting to be unleashed. They would pay. They would all pay. Bellatrix and Voldemort for killing him, the Weasley's for tricking him, Dumbledore for imprisoning him. He would make them pay.

The items in the office were shaking in the power swirling around Harry. A visible aura surrounded him, bright white light that was somehow hostile. The anger radiated off him in waves and Daphne was afraid he would lose control of his magic completely.

Summoning her courage she did the only thing she thought might help; she sat down in his lap and started snogging him senseless.

When he finally started kissing her back it was nothing like the sweet, stolen kisses or the long, passionate ones she was used to. No, there was definitely anger here, expressed in the way he pressed against her lips hard enough to bruise, and used his teeth to nip at her lips, occasionally drawing blood. His tongue didn't explore her mouth, it possessed it, taking over and dominating hers. His hands were clutching her hips, leaving bruises in their wake. Despite the pain, Daphne kissed him back with all she had, trying to take away as much of the pain as possible, pain Harry didn't deserve to feel. The message was clear: she was there for him, now and always.

Eventually the anger dimmed and his kisses became more passionate and less severe, until he finally drew away, breathing heavily but once again under control.

What seemed like years later, Harry looked up, to see three worried faces staring back at him. Gently kissing Daphne in thanks, he wandlessly healed her lips and turned her around on his lap so that she was facing forward. Still, he didn't let her go, instead wrapping his arms around her and drawing her back against him.

Finally he managed to speak. "Sorry," he croaked out. Clearing his voice, he continued. "Sorry for losing control like that."

"You have nothing to apologize for. I am just happy to see you with us once more. I understand that must have been hard to hear, but if you allow me to continue I believe you'll like what I have to say." At Harry's nod Ragnok continued.

"The proviso in his will states that the then Lord Black left money to the Weasley's in thanks for caring for you and befriending you. Since we have evidence that they did not meet this requirement, instead acting against you rather than for you, that part of the will can be make void." Harry nodded, smiling grimly in satisfaction.

"Since Dumbledore committed crimes directly against the Black heir, family law stipulates that he can receive nothing from the family vaults. Since all of Lord Black's assets are housed there, that part of the will is also void." Again Harry nodded, satisfied that those who betrayed him wouldn't see a penny of Sirius's money.

"Since we have no evidence for or against Hermione and the money left to the Weasley twins is for their joke shop, those items remain valid. However, the sums left to them are insignificant compared to your total wealth." Harry nodded once more. He wasn't honestly sure how he felt about the twins or Hermione. He hoped they were on his side, but at this point he didn't need either.

Hermione's main contribution to their friendship had been intellect, which he now had in excess thanks to Daphne, himself, and the goblin time chamber. Sure, she was a good friend, and he hoped she would remain so, but she certainly had her flaws and Harry was sure he could live without her.

The twins had never shown the temper or jealousy their brother had, or blind dedication to their mother. He honestly loved their joke products and was happy that Sirius had, too. 5,000 galleons wasn't much to him, and in these times, people needed all the laughs they could get.

"Very well. Void the parts you can and leave the rest. When will the public reading be and who can attend?"

"We were waiting to schedule the reading until we talked to you about your plans. As to who can attend, that's up to you as well. Technically only those named and their guardians, if they're underage, are allowed to be present, though I'm sure others will attempt to attend as well. The size of the Black fortune is rather legendary."

"Indeed. Alright, we plan on everything coming to a head at the next Wizengamot meeting, scheduled ironically for July 31st. Why don't you schedule the reading for the day after? Let anyone who comes in, but when the reading begins I'll insist they're removed."

"Very well. On to the next order of business, I've begun investing some of your fortune into magical and muggle businesses and in worldwide real estate. As to the Daily Prophet, you've currently 24% ownership, which should increase to 39% by week's end. I'm still trying for 50% but it's proving difficult." Griphook addressed his list, then continued on.

"A further investigation of the thefts from your vault revealed that some of the funds stolen by Dumbledore were supplied to the Dursley's in monthly installments, presumably for your care. Since they obviously misused these funds, we'd like your permission to go after them for fraud."

"Go ahead. And please, take time to enjoy yourselves while you're at it." Griphook gave a feral grin.

"Oh don't worry, I will. Now, in regards to the stolen funds, I know you said you didn't want to pursue charges, but I wanted to ask you again, seeing as how your feelings may have changed by now."

Harry nodded grimly. "Very intuitive of you. My feelings on the matter have indeed changed. However, I don't think I'm in the right state of mind to make a wise decision. Daphne, love, what do you think?"

At hearing her boyfriend call her 'love' Daphne couldn't help but feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It was the first time he'd uttered the l-word and she was pretty sure that it had been an unconscious slip. Still, she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Despite the fact that they stole so much money from you, the Weasley's still dress and act poor, leading me to believe that they haven't spent much of what they stole. The same goes for Dumbledore. What does he have to spend it on, anyway? My guess is that they've squirrelled it all away in their vaults, vaults which the goblins have access to. I recommend you demand restitution and have the goblins seize the money from their vaults and put it back where it came from.

Not only will that leave them broke, but it's perfectly legal and they can't complain because then they'll be exposed as thieves. I do recommend waiting until after the Wizengamot meeting before making your demands, though. We don't want to give away that we know just yet."

"I agree with Daphne," Ragnok said. "I have another suggestion, though. Stealing is against goblin law and Gringotts policy. By stealing from a valued customer and goblin friend, Gringotts can declare the Weasley's and Dumbledore enemies of The Nation."

"And what would that do?"

"In your world, not much, unfortunately, but it would prohibit them from stepping foot in another goblin establishment ever again. Since goblins run the wizarding world's finances not only here but all across the world, your new enemies will have a very difficult time with money from now on. After all, most paychecks are made to a Gringotts vault, most store charges charge the vault directly, and banks are really the only place to assure your money won't get stolen. So while it wouldn't ruin their lives completely, it will certainly make things much more difficult for them."

"Excellent. Let's do that, then, but wait until after the July Wizengamot meeting. It's only a few weeks away, after all."

"Very well," Griphook said, jotting down a note. "What's next on our agenda?"

"An invitation. As I said earlier, the Longbottom's and the Bones' have agreed to ally with us. We're planning to get together over dinner this week and make plans. Would either of you be interested in joining us? It'd be nice to have you there, as you look at things differently than most."

Ragnok was used to surprises when it came to Harry, but this took the cake. A goblin was being invited to a dinner party with wizarding Britain's finest! It was unheard of!

"Once again harry you manage to take me by surprise. Goblin-wizard interaction is at an all-time low and is unheard of in social situations. However, if you think your fellow allies won't mind, I'd be delighted to attend. I'm sure Griphook feels the same." Griphook nodded vigorously and Harry grinned.

"I'm sure they'll be fine, and if they aren't, they'll answer to me." The implied threat was hard to miss and inwardly Ragnok smirked. He doubted he would be treated anything but well if Harry had any say in the matter.

"Excellent. I'll send an owl once we have the time and place arranged."

"I look forward to it."

"As do I. Now, is there anything else we can do for you today?"

"Actually, yes. I'd like to visit my vaults."

"Which ones?"

"All of them."


	13. Vomit, Vengeance, and Verfiffles

Chapter 13- Party Planning

It was a well-known fact that the Slytherin quidditch team was all male. As a byproduct of the nature of Slytherin house, combined with its dark reputation, everyone automatically assumed that it was done that way on purpose and that female quidditch players weren't welcome. However, this couldn't be farther from the truth.

Quidditch valued speed and agility above all else, thus the proclivity of the female body to be small and slight was a natural advantage in the ruthless sport. Females were also better at team bonding and at distracting their opponents (in more ways than one).

Marcus Flint, the Slytherin quidditch team captain, was desperate for some female players. The problem was, he couldn't find any.

Only second years and up could play, but the unwritten rule was that you didn't make the team until third year at the earliest. Fifth years had OWLs, seventh years had NEWTs, so that just ruled out more of the population. In the end, he had just 3rd, 4th, and 6th years to pick from.

Now, each year had on average eight students, with more than half always being male. Given that, that meant only 9 females from his house were eligible for the team. Which would have been great except for the fact that none of them wanted to play. Clarissa and Mandy, third years, weren't good enough and their friend Devon hated the sport. Brittney was afraid of heights and her fellow fourth years weren't interested in playing. Tracey was a great chaser but hated the spotlight and buckled under pressure, Pansy was an obvious no (even her own house hated her), and Millicent wasn't built for it.

That left just one, Daphne. And while Daphne wasn't afraid of heights, in fact she enjoyed them immensely, and was decent on a broom, she didn't like high speeds. In fact, "didn't like" would be an understatement. The normally stoic girl would scream like a banshee if she moved even fast enough to pass a slug and then would become extremely ill.

Another not so well known fact is that when sitting in a small cart on what were basically roller coaster tracks that led deep into the depths of Gringotts, one cannot dodge the projectile vomit formed by their girlfriend very well. Both Griphook and Harry found that out the hard way on their way to the Potter vault.

Harry had insisted that Daphne come along as he valued her opinion and appreciated the way she looked at things differently. It didn't take very long for him to regret his decision. Stepping out of the cart and casting a scourgify at all three passengers, Harry's conscious mind cheerfully reminded him that this was vault one of six. And that meant five more trips in the cart with Daphne. Five.

"Thank you," Griphook muttered as he stepped out next to Harry. Harry nodded, a little too traumatized to say anything, and gave his green-faced girlfriend a hand up and a fresh breathing charm. She nodded her thanks and slumped onto his shoulder.

Casting one more scourgify for good measure, Harry cleared his head and focused on the task at hand. Griphook had informed him in between Daphne's … moments … that in order to access each vault he simply had to press the corresponding ring to the door and magic would take care of the rest.

Stepping forward (Daphne still leaning on his shoulder), Harry curled his hand into a fist and gently pressed the Potter ring into the large iron door covered in the Potter crest. A brief flash occurred at the contact and the door split in two, opening inwards into the large vault.

The first thing he saw was gold. Lots and lots of gold. He'd known he was rich, but to see it in person just made it all the more real. After taking it all in, he let his eyes wander to the other side of the vault, which was filled with actual objects. He noted several paintings, some magical and surprisingly some muggle, a family tree painted out on a large tapestry, several trunks, and lots of books.

Gently tugging his girlfriend forward Harry set out exploring his family's history. One chestnut box held a dozen wands of all sizes and compositions. Each had a little tag listing the previous owner and the wood/core of the wand.

A nearby trunk was practically overflowing with jewels. The one that caught his eye was a silver wedding band topped with a large circular diamond, an emerald sitting on each side of it. After reading that it was his mother's he discreetly pocketed it and moved on.

Two of the trunks held what remained of his parent's school things. His mother's was neat and meticulous and overflowing with school books, whereas his father's was a stinky jumble of clothes, pranks, sweets, and a few books of questionable content. Smiling at the new knowledge on his parents, Harry gave each trunk a gentle pat before moving on once more.

The bookshelves were concentrated heavily on warding and Harry found some old texts that looked to be really helpful. Shrinking them, he slipped them into a bag he'd brought just for this purpose, along with a few others that looked interesting.

The only other thing that caught his eye after that was a penseive just like the one he'd used with Dumbledore and, unfortunately, Snape. Adding it to the bag, he collected his girlfriend, who had recovered enough to peruse the bookshelves, and headed back to the cart of doom.

Next up was the Black vault, and lucky for them, it required another cart ride that included a fast and sharp drop that had them seeing the second coming of Daphne's lunch. Three more scourgifies later they were in the Black vault, Daphne once more leaning on him for support.

The first thing he saw was Sirius's motorcycle and he grinned. If Daphne had been coherent enough to see the mischief in his eyes, she would have put her foot down and insisted the bike remain in the vault. Alas, she did not, and the bike went into the bag post haste.

The Black vault mirrored the Potter vault in its contents, although the gold was more abundant and the books much darker. He was also pretty sure that most of the portraits were glaring at him. Needless to say they moved on to the next vault relatively quickly.

The Peverell vault would forever be scarred by the scent of Daphne's stomach contents. Luckily she missed the precious ancient texts and there wasn't enough else there to warrant a return trip in the future.

By the time they made it to the founders vaults, which were all the way at the bottom of the tunnel system as the founders were some of the first customers, Daphne was simply dry heaving. Great for the nose but not so much on the ears. Or eyes.

Harry was starting to seriously worry about Daphne. He hadn't know it was possible to vomit so much and he was pretty sure she might has dislodged a disk or something during her intense heaving spats.

Because of this he only did cursory reviews of the founder's vault, each of which hosted only money as all other belongings were still housed in the school in their hidden chambers.

Sighing in relief Harry stepped into the goblin cart for the final time that day, rubbing Daphne's back as she gave a groan at the forwards motion. Turned out she still had stuff to puke up. Honestly, Harry was pretty impressed.

Thanking Griphook for his assistance and secretly slipping him some galleons for putting up with his motion-sick girlfriend, Harry slipped out of the bank and headed to the apparition point. Grabbing Daphne's arm, he side-alonged her directly into her bedroom and tucked her into bed. She was asleep before she hit the pillow.

When Harry filled Eve on what had happened she cooed over her "poor baby" and went to the apothecary for some stomach settling solution. When Astoria and Cyrus were informed, they laughed until they cried. Harry couldn't decide whether to join in or defend his girlfriend's honor. In the end he just decided to call it a day and headed off to bed.

Daphne had fully recovered in the morning and was able to meet him for their usual morning run. As they ran, they talked about their plans for the day and decided that a trip to Privet Drive was in order.

"Hey Harry," Daphne asked as she fastened her cloak.

"Yah?"

"Where's Hedwig been?"

"Oh, yah. I wondered when you'd notice she was missing."

"So?"

"Well, I told her that we were finally free of Privet Drive and that she was free to spend the summer however she wished, as long as she carried my report off to the order every three days."

"You're still doing that?"

"Yah, I figured to not continue would raise questions I didn't want to answer. I still pop by occasionally to throw off the watchers."

"Oh. Well, what's Hedwig doing there?" His grin made her worry a little.

"She's expressing her opinion of my loving family."

"How?"

"The only way an owl can." His smirk was pure evil this time.

"I don't want to know. Come on then, best get this over with." With a nod Harry disappeared from the manor, reappearing at the place he'd called home for so many years, Daphne following right behind him.

They'd decided that the easiest way to do this would involve magic but that they couldn't risk detection at all, so goblin and elven magic would be best.

As they walked up to the door under disillusionment Harry couldn't help but notice the poor state of the lawn and flower beds. An evil grin lighting his face Harry sent a wandless curse at said items and skipped up to the door, absently casting a glamor charm on himself to make him look like he had when he'd lived there.

Not bothering to knock he cast a wandless Alohamora and entered the house, shutting the door behind him as soon as he heard Daphne's footsteps ahead of him. Waltzing into the living room he grinned as he found all three residents sitting in front of the tele. Turning off the power and dropping his disillusionment, Harry turned to his "family" and crowed, "Honey, I'm home!"

The results were instantaneous. Petunia screamed and then fainted. Dudley peed himself and tried to make himself as small as possible, which was made difficult by the fact that he was the size of a small whale. Vernon's face turned bright red and twitchy began his little dance on Vernon's face. Seconds before the inevitable explosion, Daphne appeared and cast a silencing spell at him.

"Hi there, you must be Vernon Dursley. I'm Daphne Greengrass, pleased to meet you. Sticking her hand out for shaking, she changed her mind halfway there and rammed her fist into Vernon's gut. At least, she thought it was his gut. It was difficult to tell where everything was under all that fat. Still, it was a great punch and Vernon actually doubled over wheezing. How pathetic.

Walking over to Dudley she repeated the process, except she punched him in the face this time. She _really_ didn't like him.

"I'm going to fetch your things. You go ahead and finish things up here, dear." Making a bit of a show of things she walked over and kissed him passionately before sending him a wink and flouncing out of the room.

Grinning at his girlfriend's antics he turned to his uncle and cancelled Daphne's spell.

"Sorry about that, she's gets a little too enthusiastic sometimes, but she means well," he said in a falsely chipper voice. "In fact, she actually wanted to curse the crap out of you. She had some pretty good ones all picked out, too. Once to turn you inside out, another to turn you into a Twinkie, possibly once to convince you that Petunia was a sandwich. I told her no on all three counts. The first is much too messy. Innards all over the place, ya know?" Not stopping to let the rapidly paling Vernon answer, he continued on. "The second was actually a great idea until Tori, her sister, pointed out that someone might accidentally eat you, and we don't want them to get sick. The third was once again too messy. I've seen your idea of table manners. There'd be bits and pieces of Petunia all over the place!"

"Now you listen here boy-." It appeared Vernon had finally found his voice and was none too happy about his sudden house guest's speech. What a shame, he'd been working on it for quite some time. Cupping his hand around his ear, Harry leaned closer to show he was listening.

"Yes Uncle Vernon?"

"Why you little freak, I may not have been able to beat the magic out of you, but I can still put you in your place!" Funny, now that Harry could actually fight back, he didn't find Vernon all that intimidating.

Harry just shrugged at the threat and waited for the explosion.

It came just seconds later. Vernon exploded outward, advancing on his nephew with his fist raised. As he swung wildly Harry calmly stepped to the side. Vernon stumbled but managed to stay upright and turned, aiming a punch at Harry's head. He roared in fury when Harry simply sidestepped once again. Completely enraged Vernon charged, planning on tackling his no good nephew.

Finally, Harry decided to end things. As Vernon charged he ducked and spun, dragging Vernon's legs out from under him and sending Vernon crashing face first into the floor. As he struggled to roll over Harry noticed that Petunia was awake again and sent her a little wave. She fainted immediately at his motion. Pathetic.

Turning to Dudley he raised his arms and shouted "boo!" Dudley screamed and started crying for his mummy, who was unconscious once more. A thud behind him altered Harry to Vernon's new position of lying on his back.

Hearing the threat to his son, Vernon started yelling once more. "Why you insolent brat, I'll show you-"

He was cut off as Harry dropped his glamors and knelt on his Uncles chest, his wand pressed to Vernon's throat.

"No, Vernon, you won't." Harry's voice was ice cold and there was a fire in his eyes that Vernon had never seen before and instinctually feared. For the first time, he was afraid of Harry.

"Don't you see, Uncle? The boy you beat and left for dead is gone and in his place stands a warrior. A Lord. A killer." At the last statement he pressed his wand further into Vernon's pulse point. "You, you fat tub of lard, can do absolutely _nothing_ to me, not anymore. I, on the other hand, can do a great deal." An evil grin grew on his face and he leaned in closer.

"Please don't kill me," Vernon whimpered pathetically. Harry suddenly smelled urine and fought to keep the disgust off his face.

"Don't worry Vernon, I won't kill you." Harry stood, brushing of his pants, and Vernon sighed in relief. "No, killing would be too quick. I want you to suffer, just like I did." Turning, Harry walked to the doorway and nodded to his girlfriend, who handed him his shrunken trunk that held his cloak, wand, photo album, books, and other belongings, and exited the house. Just before he closed the door Harry turned back for one last look at his family who were looking both confused at his retreat and hopeful. Well, he couldn't have that.

"Enjoy the rest of your lives. I know I will." Their terrified faces were the last thing he saw as he shut the door and disillusioned himself.

"Come on Daphne, let's go home." At that the wards at Privet drive finally fell.

Later that week Albus Dumbledore sat down at his desk in the Headmaster's office and sighed. He still hadn't been able to repair the ward, tracking, and magic monitors on Harry that the boy had destroyed in a fit of temper earlier that summer. Oh well, he was sure the boy was fine. After all, what could possibly go wrong?

Meanwhile at the Greengrass estate, an event of historic importance was taking place. One after another important heads of houses and even the director of Gringotts stepped out of the fireplace, rushing soot off their robes and greeting their hosts warmly. The first meeting of the Alliance had begun.

"Alright everyone, gather 'round!" Harry was herding Amelia and Augusta into the dining room while trying not to laugh at Luna's explanation of Veriffles to Astoria.

Luna had been a surprise addition to the team. Earlier in the day Harry had received a letter from her that said that "the Verfiffles had told her she was needed at home to help take over wizarding Britain" and "could he please make sure the Greengrass home was clear of nargles before she flooed over?" Shrugging off the oddities as just being Luna he asked Cyrus to add her to the wards and greeted her at wand point in the fireplace room.

Instead of being alarmed at an unrecognizable man pointed a weapon at her, she just gave a dreamy smile, told him she was glad the flingdingers had finally left him alone, and then gave a wizard oath that she would never betray him or his secrets. Then she simply walked by him and began staring at a plant in the windowsill, muttering about verfiffles and canklewhips. Harry had stared at her for a good five minutes, then shrugged and went back to his lunch.

And so, long story short, Luna had joined the ever growing Alliance and was currently in his home, chatting with his girlfriend's sister and pet rock, Tim, (a gift from Daphne).

When everyone was seated and had something to nibble on, Harry stood and called the meeting to order. "Alright everyone, thank you for coming. I'm not one for giving speeches and this is no exception. You all know what we're here for and what needs to be done. Let's get to it."

"Well said, Harry." Ragnok stood at this point and addressed the others. "I wanted to thank you for a warm welcome, one goblins are unused to when dealing with wizards, and to offer our full support of this establishment and all its activities." His statement was met with polite clapping and several head nods.

"Now, young Harry has asked us to monitor the accounts of known and suspected death eaters. Over the past week we have make great advances in this project. I'll leave Griphook to give a summary."

Ragnok sat and instead of standing Griphook simply leaned forward and opened his folder. "Thank you, director. In regards to the Malfoy's, the paperwork has all been arranged. As soon as Harry gives me the all clear I can have their marriage dissolved and fortune confiscated in under an hour.

Instead of waiting for the Wizengamot to give us authorization to investigate, we've decided to declare all death eaters as enemies of the nation. We can do this since they attacked a goblin friend, thus violating the Treaty of 1816. As enemies of the nation we have every authority to investigate their vaults and then take whatever action we feel is pertinent. In this case seizure of the vaults in question is the typical response and will not only make us very wealthy, but it will make Riddle very poor."

"What kind of proof will you need to have this done," Amelia asked, her quill poised over her notepad.

"We can do things one of two ways. We can declare all supporters of Riddle enemies and thus track transactions leading back to him, or we can focus on the dark mark and all who bear it. Both ideas have their merits."

"I'm hoping that once we gain more control over the Wizengamot, starting with removing that arsehole Fudge, we'll be able to pass laws allowing harsher punishments on marked followers. If this can be accomplished, your mode of cutting down the unmarked ones would be needed more than focusing on marked eaters." Ragnok nodded in understanding and made a note.

"Are we sure we can get Fudge out? I mean even with you-know, I mean, Riddle, showing up in the DoM proved him to be wrong, he still had a lot of power, especially from the dark side."

"You make a good point, Neville. That's why I want to claim my titles first and then call for Umbridge's head."

"She's resurfaced?"

Cyrus answered Neville's question. "Unfortunately, yes, and with a vengeance. There have been three new restrictive laws on werewolves this past month alone." Harry scowled at that.

"Wait, what would you even charge her with in the first place?"

"I guess you never had detention with her last year, huh?" Susan shook her head no. "You're lucky. She had this nasty little habit of having her students write lines with a blood quill." Several in the room gasped at that news and Amelia starting writing rapidly.

"Do you have proof of this?"

"Yah. I even have the scars." He showed the back of his hand to Amelia, who was visibly straining against her temper.

"If you declare her act an attack on a noble house, you can demand the use of veritassium," Augusta added. "That will prevent her from sneaking out of the charges."

"Yah, but how will that help kick out Fudge," Astoria asked.

"Because I'm pretty sure he ordered her to do it, or at least knew about it." Augusta shot him a sharp look.

"That's a dangerous accusation to make. He may be incompetent, but he is the minister."

"Which is why Harry won't make any accusation at all," Daphne responded. "He'll simply call for Umbridge's head and drug her up with truth serum. If she happens to mention he was aware of her actions, which we're almost positive he was, well, then, that's just an added bonus."

"How very Slytherin of you."

She smirked. "Why thank you. I try."

"Alright, so given that we get her to squawk and she gives up Fudge, what next?"

"I'm not sure, Cyrus. How exactly does one call for a vote of no confidence?"

"It's actually very simple. If there are grounds for it, which the confession would be, then you simply make a motion and someone has to second it. The trial takes place at the closest Wizengamot session, which will be that very day."

"Excellent. So who do we want in his place?"

"I don't really care as long as it's not one of Riddle's or Dumble's puppets."

"That's not very many."

"I know. I was thinking we'd wait and see who people recommended in session and then just pick the best one there."

"That'll work for now, after all they'll only be electing the interim minister and if we don't like them we can simply vote for someone else at elections." Harry nodded at Amelia's advice and looked down at his list.

"Luna, can you ask your father if he's willing to write an article on the events of the next Wizengamot section? I'm planning on talking to the Daily Prophet as well, but it will be more believable if both papers cover the topic."

"Sure, Harry. I'll ask him tomorrow after his bath. Daddy's always more agreeable after he's washed off the quirrgles."

"Uh, thanks Luna." She smiled serenely at him and nodded.

"Uh, right. Next order of business: Dumbledore."

"Yuck."

"Yah, I know, right?" Daphne and Susan both slapped Harry and Neville on the back of the head and rolled their eyes.

"Ouch! What was that for?!"

"Yah, seriously, what the hell?" Another slap shut them both up.

Cyrus cleared his throat in an effort not to laugh and spoke up. "I think we should call into question his position as Chief Warlock. We can cite that he abused his position to seal the will and put away an innocent man."

"What if that's not enough, though? Dumbledore is famous for being able to talk his way out of anything."

Suddenly Harry's ring warmed and he gave out a grin. "Ravenclaw's ring just informed me that the headmaster of the school isn't allowed any outside employment since it detracts from his school duties. We can use that if he wiggles out of things and make him choose between the two positions. Since he has me more at the school, he'll choose to stay Headmaster."

"Yah, but then won't school be a nightmare for you?" Astoria looked at Harry worriedly and he slung an arm around her.

"Normally, yes, but since I own the place, I doubt he'll be saying too much. In fact, I control whether or not he has a job, so he'd best be careful. On that note, does anyone have any suggestions for Hogwarts this fall?"

Immediately a burst of ideas were thrown across the table, each getting lost in each other.

"Whoa, whoa! One at a time. Amelia?"

"I don't think Hogsmeade trips are a good idea, what with Riddle on the loose."

"True," Daphne said, "but they're important for student moral."

"Yes but I'd rather have sad students than dead students." Augusta nodded in agreement there.

"What if we compromised? We can cut down on the number of trips and replace them with in school activities. When we do go out, we'll only notify them a day beforehand and you can post all the auror backup you want." Amelia nodded and looked to Augusta, who nodded as well.

"Hey Harry, are you continuing the DA this year?"

"I'm not sure, it depends on who the DADA teacher is."

"I'm afraid you're not going to like this." Cyrus grimaced and nodded in agreement with Augusta. "As you know I sit on the school board. We review the new teaching applications each year. There was only one for DADA." She grimaced.

"Who?"

"Severus Snape."

"What," Neville squeaked. He may have grown into his own, but professor Snape was still bloody terrifying!

"That's ridiculous," Susan shouted.

"Actually it's not a bad idea," Daphne said calmly. Even Harry gave her a funny look at that comment.

"I know he's a horrible person, but keep in mind he's a death eater."

"Exactly."

"Oh really, it's not like he's going to start avada-ing students. Not even Dumbledore would let that happen."

"Yah, but he'll fight dirty," Neville put in.

"Exactly! You need to learn how to fight dirty! Who better to teach you how to fight against death eaters than a death eater himself! If he really is Dumbledore's spy then he'll help us, and if he really is Riddle's man, then we'll still learn from him. He can't do anything harmful to the students, and even if it sucks, it's the best way to learn defense."

"You make some good points, but I'm still not comfortable letting a death eater with a grudge loose in the school." Harry squeezed her hand in both support and frustration and she squeezed it back.

"But that's just the point, we don't have to let him loose. We were planning on enacting a zero-tolerance policy for the students. Why not expand it to the staff as well?" Silence reigned for a few minutes as everyone thought things through.

"You know, that just might work," Harry finally decided. He was rewarded with a genuine Daphne grin, shocking her parents and those who knew her well.

"Alright, so it's agreed that we'll give him a chance, but if he blows it that's it." Harry and the others nodded and Amelia added that to her ever growing list. "What about the wards?"

"Leave those to me. I plan on updating them before the fall term."

"Okay, what else?" Neville raised his hand nervously. "Yes Neville?"

"Well, Sue and I were talking, and we want to fight with you. It's true that the DA taught us a lot but looking at you now you're still loads ahead of us."

"Yes, well, we've had a lot more training."

"Exactly. You and Daphne had a whole year extra of training. Susan and I were hoping you could pass some of that on to us." Harry and Daphne had a silent conversation before she nodded slightly.

"Alright Nev, you're in. We'll work out a schedule for you for the rest of the summer and then once school starts we'll see how things go."

"Thanks Harry."

"I wouldn't thank me yet," he said with a smirk. "We ended up hating our last instructor. No worries, though, we won't throw you into a wall too many times."

Neville paled at that but still nodded determinedly. "I'll do everything I can to help."

"Me too."

"Alright then. Meet us here tomorrow morning at 6 o'clock. Wear something you can exercise in." Susan and Neville both nodded.

"Now, back to business, any other ideas on either the Wizengamot or Hogwarts?"

Luna's ethereal voice piped up in the silence. "We should paint the doorways orange." Everyone looked at her oddly. "What? Everyone knows it keeps mugglewumps away."

"And what exactly do mugglewumps do," Evelyn asked bravely.

"Oh! They slow people down and get them all mixed up so they can't leave."

"I don't know about painting the doorways, but Luna brings up a good point. We'll need to run evacuation drills both with and without the teachers so that we can get the students out before an attack."

"I can get some aurors to help you with that," Amelia said. Harry thought for a bit, then shook his head slowly.

"Sorry Amelia, but at this point I don't trust any of them. There are too many in the department with ties to one side or the other."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm pretty sure Dawlish is a supporter of Riddle, and Shacklebolt and Tonks are both members of the order." Amelia looked to be deep in thought for several minutes.

"How about this: I make all my aurors give a loyalty oath preventing them from joining any outside organizations, both light and dark?"

"That's actually a good idea. Why not slowly expand it to the whole ministry?"

"It'll take a while but I think it can be done."

"In the meantime, Gringotts can offer portkeys to get students out of the school and to a secure location within the bank. The only problem is they'll need to be outside of the wards to activate them."

Harry nodded, having expected that. "Thank Ragnok, we gladly accept. We'll work on getting them out of the wards and leave the rest up to you."

"Alright, I think that's it for tonight. Feel free to owl with questions or updates. I've talked with Cyrus and he's keyed you all into the floo so you can stop by anytime. If I don't see you before then, good luck at the Wizengamot. We're all going to need it."


	14. It All Hits the Fan

Tick

Tock

Tick

Tock

Daphne curled her hands tighter around the bench she sat upon and checked the clock once more. 8:53am, just one minute later than when she last checked. Inwardly cursing, she shuffled in her seat and brought up her occlumency barriers. She hated herself for being so nervous, but she just couldn't help it. So much rested on how today went, so much.

Taking a deep breath she schooled her features and focused on sitting still. She was the Ice Queen of Slytherin, both feared and revered by her classmates. Her control was iron and unwavering. She could definitely sit still for seven more minutes. She'd once sat through double transfiguration without moving even a facial muscle, this should be no problem. Of course, that stupid clock hadn't been present in McGonagall's classroom.

Tick

Tock

Tick

Tock

Redistributing her weight she shuffled once more, cursing her impatience, meddlesome old men, and the creator of clocks. After a lengthy inner struggle she gave up and once more looked up at the clock. 8:54 am. Damn.

Sighing in defeat she resigned herself to watching the other audience members. Wizengamot meetings only happened once a month unless there was an emergency. That meant that twelve days a year the most prominent members of society turned out to discuss issues ranging from threatening dark lords to the crazy naked man that got drunk and danced out front of the Leaky Cauldron on Thursday afternoons.

Unsurprisingly, a lot of people turned out to watch these discussions. Part of it was admiration. It seemed that at each meeting every Lord and Lady was trying to outdo the other, both in terms of arguments and opulence. In fact, almost all of the robes said Lords and Ladies wore were custom made specifically for this day and cost more than the average wizard made in a year.

Another part of it was curiosity. Nothing new in the wizarding world could happen without the knowledge and consent of the Wizengamot. In order to be informed and stay up to date on their own society, people either had to go to the session or read about it later. Given the reputation of the Daily Prophet for telling more lies than the politicians they reported on, most people preferred to go and hear things with their own ears.

Finally, people went because nothing ever happened in the wizarding world and they were bored. Simple as that.

As Daphne scanned the crowd she noted the faces that looked like they were taking this seriously rather than regarding the meeting as entertainment. She had been to her fair share of Wizengamot meetings, what with her father being a prominent member, and it spoke to how bad things were that more the half the people were grim faced and tense, rather than the usual handful. She really hoped that would change soon, and if she had any say in things, it would.

Finally at 8:55am the members of the Wizengamot strode in, their resplendent robes shimmering in the spotlight and their noses firmly stuck in the air. Even her father stood tall and puffed out his chest a bit. Rolling her eyes, she noted the seating arrangement they took.

There were five rows, each with enough room to seat fifteen people. The unspoken rule was that those of higher status sat more towards the front where they could be seen and heard better. Then of course were the various factions.

Those of the "dark" side sat to the far left, leaving at least one seat free between them and the neutrals. On the far right side sat those of the "light" division, located closest to the small yet ornate table off to the side where the Chief Warlock sat.

It was on the other side of this table, opposite the Wizengamot, that she was most interested in. This side was smaller, holding only one bench. This bench, however, was a beautiful dark cherry, ornately carved and screaming of higher status. It could hold exactly twelve people, and on the bottom wall in front of the elevated bench was carved, just as ornately, "The Twelve".

This was where the members of the 12 sat during meetings if they felt it necessary. For the entirety of her life, Daphne couldn't ever remember them being occupied. It had been pointless, really, seeing as how a majority hadn't been available and thus they held no power. It had simply been easier and made more sense to sit amongst their peers than on "their" side.

Today, though, the courtroom was abuzz with excited whispers as Lady Bones, Lady Longbottom, and Lord Greengrass all took their place on the opulent bench, as was their right. All three factions were staring at the three members, either with curiosity, jealousy, fear, or a combination of all three.

When Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, holder of an Order of Merlin, First Class, Supreme Mugwump of the ICW, Grand Sorcerer, and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, stepped up to his usual table at exactly 9am, he almost dropped his gavel at the sight of the three powerful members using their rightful seating for the first time in over 200 years. Shock and curiosity flashed across his face, so quickly that you would miss it unless you were looking for it, as Daphne was. Smirking, she made a note on her parchment and sat back, waiting for the fun to begin.

Clearing his throat, Dumbledore banged his gavel and began the meeting with the usual speech. "Lords, Ladies, honored guests, I call this seven hundred and fifty-third meeting of the British Wizengamot to order. Be advised that duels, formal and unformal, are not permitted in these chambers at any time and that only those wearing a signet ring or holding one by proxy are permitted to vote. Before we begin our business today is there anything that needs to be discussed?"

Daphne leaned forward in anticipation and grinned as the doors burst open, revealing a dark, cloaked figure with glowing green eyes.

"As a matter of fact, there is." Dropping his robe, Harry stepped forward and held his wand aloft.

"I, Harry James Potter, do hereby activate my seats for the Most Ancient and Noble Houses of Potter, Black, Peverell, Gryffindor, Slytherin, and Ravenclaw, as is my right my heritage. So mote it be." A golden flash burst forth, covering the chamber in a dazzling light.

Immediately half the members were on their feet, shouting, and the audience began chatting in excitement. The noise grew so intense that you couldn't even hear your neighbor from six inches away. Through it all Harry stood calmly, his face an emotionless mask. He eyes met hers for a moment and he winked before turning to face both Dumbledore and the Wizengamot and shouted "ENOUGH!"

Despite the lack of magical amplification, his voice echoed around the chambers, which immediately grew silent. Striding forwards, his black silk robes billowing around him, he laid a parchment on Dumbledore's desk and turned to the audience, completely ignoring Dumbledore's shocked face.

"I've just handed the Chief Warlock the results of my heritage test from Gringotts confirming that I am indeed Lord of all six Most Ancient and Noble Houses." Turning to Dumbledore he raised an eyebrow and gestured to the parchment.

With so many watching Dumbledore's only choice was to perform an authentication charm and announce the results. "It's authentic," he said with a nod, desperately trying to catch Harry's eye. He could feel his plans falling down around him and knew there wasn't much time to salvage them.

"He's not of age!" Lucius Malfoy was on his feet, desperately trying to stop this from happening. It would be disastrous if the boy took his rightful place. As Lord of six of the 12, a majority vote was now possible. He had recently been let off for the incident at the ministry earlier that summer. His lord would be extremely displeased if that decision was undone. Not to mention, it might spell the end of him.

"As the only living heir to a Most Ancient and Noble House, let alone six, I have automatic grounds for emancipation, which I have activated. Since I'm emancipated I am considered an adult in this society and thus may hold my titles and my seats."

"That's impossible, I did not agree to this and you cannot be emancipated without the support of your magical guardian." Dumbledore was standing now and obviously panicking, though he was hiding it very well.

"That may be true, but your actions of placing me with abusive relatives and denying me my heritage have negated your right of magical guardianship, which was taken illegally in the first place. Gringotts and even magic itself agree and have granted me emancipation despite your objections."

Out of the corner of his eye Harry could see several reporters writing furiously and several shocked faces staring at Dumbledore, who was rapidly paling.

"Harry, my boy, is this really necessary? I know you're upset with me but this is going too far. You're not ready for this."

"And whose fault is that? According to the law I should have been informed of my heritage at the age of eleven and have been taught my proper place in society thereafter. Instead I found out on my own and was forced to learn from other sources."

"And who might they be?" He was obviously desperate for more information, which Harry was happy to deny him.

"That is not your concern. Your role here is purely as Chief Warlock, so either accept my claims or give a good reason not to and move on with the meeting."

Growing irritated with Dumbledore's interference, Augusta slowly rose. "Chief Warlock, surely you aren't trying to deny a member of the 12 his rightful place in society?" Cyrus and Amelia rose with her and glared at him, presenting a united front.

Acknowledging defeat, Dumbledore banged his gavel and said, "This body recognizes Harry James Potter as Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble Houses of Potter, Black, Peverell, Gryffindor, Slytherin, and Ravenclaw and grants him his rightful place at the seats of his houses."

Harry nodded, bowed to the general assembly, and, completely ignoring Dumbledore, walked over to the 12 and took a seat next to Amelia, who was grinning at him. He thanked Augusta for her help and gave a slight nod to Cyrus, attempting to keep their association a secret for now. He nodded back and then turned back to the proceedings.

"Very well, the floor is now open for discussion. Are there any complaints being addressed today?"

Once again Harry stood and all eyes turned towards him.

"I call for charges to be laid against one Dolores Umbridge for attacks made on not one but six Most Ancient and Noble Houses."

Augusta stood and said, "I second that request."

Amelia then stood and motioned for the aurors to go and fetch the woman who was rapidly turning purple in the audience. As she opened her mouth to explode Harry spoke once more.

"Due to the nature of the charges I request that Veritassium be used."

"Harry, my boy, is this really necessary? Dolores is a respected member of our government." Harry turned to glare at Fudge, who was very, very pale.

"I am not your boy and I did not give you leave to use my name. Am I to understand that you, the Minister of Magic, are trying to cover up crimes committed against a member of the 12?"

"No, no, of course not!" Even Fudge wasn't stupid enough to argue in front of so many witnesses.

"Then I expect no interference in this matter." Taking the floor, Harry faced a now bound Umbridge who was trying to kill him with her eyes. Amelia pulled a vial out of her robe and placed three drops of Veritassium on Umbridge's tongue, nodding to Harry when it took effect.

"State your name and position to the court."

 _Dolores Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic._

"Did you reside at Hogwarts last year?"

 _Yes_

"Why were you sent there?"

 _To discredit that brat Potter and keep him quiet._

The court gasped at that but Harry kept going, knowing it was only the tip of the iceberg.

"Who sent you to do so?"

 _Minister Fudge._ Amelia immediately motioned for two of her aurors to restrain Fudge, who had tried to make a run for it.

"Did you use a blood quill on students as a disciplinary method?"

 _Yes, the little brats deserved to bleed._

"Did you know that possessing a blood quill, let alone using one on a child, was illegal?"

 _Yes_.

"Did minister Fudge know what you were doing?"

 _Yes, he was the one who gave me the quill_.

The court immediately went into uproar as various members called for Fudge's head. The aurors quickly arrested Fudge and took him off to a secure holding cell as Dumbledore attempted to quiet the chamber. It took a loud blast from his wand, but at last the chamber fell silent once more.

"Did you use this quill on me?"

 _Yes_

"What did you have me write?"

 _I must not tell lies._

The audience, quickly understanding the message, began to buzz in anger and threatened to riot once Harry showed his scarred hand to them.

Having accomplished his task, Harry nodded to Amelia, who administered the antidote and then silenced an extremely irate Umbridge.

"As the offended and a member of the 12 I enact my right to sentence the obviously guilty party. Dolores Umbridge, I sentence you to life in Azkaban for your crimes."

Without waiting for the bang of a gavel the aurors took the accused away, nodded to Amelia on the way out.

"Due to recent evidence I call for a vote of No Confidence of Cornelius Fudge."

"Seconded," Amelia said.

"Very well, we shall vote next meeting on this matter in order to give the accused time to prepare a defense," Dumbledore said. He made to bang his gavel but found he couldn't move his hand.

"Why on earth would we give him time to prepare a defense when he's obviously guilty," Harry asked incredulously. "I move that we vote right now on this matter."

"Members have not heard all the evidence against the accused," Dumbledore argued. He needed someone malleable to stay in the Minister's position. Incompetent he may be, but Fudge had his uses.

"They've heard enough," Lord Abbott declared, standing from his place in the Wizengamot seating. "I second the motion for a vote of no confidence."

"Very well," Dumbledore said, obviously not happy. "Those in agreement to remove Cornelius Fudge as minister, raise your wands." About 2/3 of the members did so. "All opposed?" A few wands lit up, mostly from the dark faction. "Majority ruled, motion passed. Do we have nominations for interim minister?"

"I nominate Amelia Bones," Lord Abbott said once more. Apparently he and Amelia went way back and his daughter Hannah had grown up with Susan. Harry nodded his support and seconded the motion. Malfoy nominated Pious Thicknesse and Elphias Dodge nominated Amos Diggory.

After a quick vote, Amelia was sworn in as Interim Minister and took her place next to Harry once more, whom she glared at menacingly. Shrugging sheepishly he grinned at her and scooched a little closer to Cyrus. He was well aware of the witch's temper and had no desire to be on the receiving end of it.

"Minister Bones, do you have any motions today?" Dumbledore looked like he desperately didn't want to ask that question, but his role as Chief Warlock said that he must.

"Yes, actually. We all know of the current threat to our society. Death Eaters have been surfacing in large numbers and killing off innocent members of society. I intend to out a stop to that. As such, I propose that the possession of the dark mark be made illegal and that any found guilty be immediately interrogated under Veritassium."

"I object," Lucius Malfoy said smoothly, standing tall. "It is a well-known fact that some were forced to take the mark under the imperious curse. Making possession of the mark illegal would be punishing innocent victims."

Amelia nodded. He had a good point, though she knew the imperious defense was complete bullshit. "Lord Malfoy makes a good point, which is why I propose that the first question asked be if they were forced to take the mark. If so, they will be administered the antidote and declared innocent. If not, the interrogation may proceed."

Malfoy stood again. "Why harass prominent members of society with charges we know to be false. I, for one, will not stand for this." Amelia rolled her eyes but responded politely.

"What you deem harassment could save hundreds of lives. Surely you're fellow members recognize that?" Malfoy had no defense against that and nodded.

"Well then, it seems obvious that the only ones to vote against will be the ones will something to hide. On that note, let's begin." She nodded to Dumbledore, who looked like he'd sucked on a lemon.

"All those in favor," he gritted out. 90% of the wands rose in the air. "All those opposed?" No wands were raised, since it would be seen as an indicator of guilt. "Very well, motion passed." Amelia smirked in satisfaction as the gavel banged down and returned to her seat, where she was congratulated by her fellow members of the 12.

"Are you going to pass a motion for checking ministry workers for the mark," Harry asked her quietly.

She shook her head. "No, I don't need to ask the Wizengamot for that since it falls directly under my departmental duties. Besides, it's best not to tip them off too soon." Harry nodded and fell silent once more.

"Are there any other concerns to be addressed," Dumbledore asked, praying to any gods who were listening that there weren't. He sighed in relief as no one stood and quickly ended the meeting, banging his gavel for the final time.

Standing, he walked purposefully towards Harry, who was surrounded by well-wishers and those trying to get into his good graces.

"Harry, my boy, may I have a word?"

"Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious," Harry drawled in reply. He turned to leave but Dumbledore jumped into his way.

"I'm afraid I must insist. It regards your living arrangements for the rest of the summer." Not stopping to let Harry respond, he continued, "We've finally found you a safe place to stay and have prepared you a room." He was obviously alluding to Grimmauld place but couldn't say it since there were so many people around.

"Thanks Albus, my boy," Harry said mockingly, "but after the last few places you've chosen I no longer trust what you consider safe. I think I'll stay where I am, thank you."

"And where might that be?"

"It's none of your concern."

"I disagree, your safety is-"

"No longer your concern," Harry said, cutting him off. "Anything school related can be sent to me through Gringotts." He leaned closer, looked Dumbledore straight in the eye and brushing off his Legilimency probe. "I want to make one thing very clear, Albus. I am no longer willing to be a pawn in your game. Try to gain control over me and I'll tear you apart."

"I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean," he said calmly.

Harry snorted. "And I'm part hippogriff. Just stay out of life, _Headmaster_." Turning he walked away, leaving a very confused and nervous Dumbledore behind.

Instead of heading home, Harry took the elevator to the 4th floor and located the Department of Magical Transportation, where he quickly and easily passed his apparition test and acquired his license. Dispelling the tracking charm a panicking Dumbledore had placed on his robes, he apparated silently to an alley in muggle London. Using his handy Gringotts card he bought a bus ticket and rode to Crawley, where Hermione lived.

Harry had never actually been to Hermione's house, but he'd heard her mention it enough to get a good idea of which one it was. He knew it was on Mulberry Lane, which he had teased her about mercilessly, constantly asking if she knew the muffin man. He also knew it was cream colored with a circular drive and hedges trimmed to block the view from the street to the yard. Finally, he knew that both her parent's cars were yellow, since she'd expressed her disgust at the color in depth last year.

About halfway done the street Harry found a house that matched the description and checked the post box for a name. Smiling at the word _Granger_ spelled out in gold stickers, Harry whistled a tune and calmly walked up the drive, slamming the brass knocker several times and absently throwing up his glamor to make him look like his old self.

He'd initially been a nervous wreck about this meeting, but Daphne had snogged him senseless and repeated their mantra. "Nothing's going to change. We'll still train, you'll still smack down Dumbledore, and together we'll kill the dark lord. That's that." With the help of his occlumency barriers and raging hormones, Harry was pretty lax about the whole thing now.

He heard someone approaching the door and put on a serious face. It was show time.

The woman who answered the door had to be Hermione's mother. She had the same brown eyes, curly hair, and easy smile that her daughter had. Behind her stood a large man with Hermione's nose and facial structure but a much stockier build.

"Can we help you," Mrs. Granger asked politely.

"Hello Mrs. Granger, Mr. Granger. My name's Harry Potter and I'm a friend of your daughter's. I was hoping to have a word with her." At the name Harry Potter recognition flashed through their eyes along with deep apprehension.

"You're the boy that's always getting into trouble and dragging Hermione in with you."

Harry gave an easy grin. "Yep, that's me. Although I've never dragged her into anything, she just always insists upon coming. And I'm mighty thankful for that. She's saved my life several times over."

They didn't look appeased by that fact. In fact, they looked even more hostile. Mr. Granger stepped up and spoke to Harry in his deep, threatening voice.

"Yes, we're aware. We're also aware that you got off scot free while she lay close to death this past spring."

Harry's eyes flashed in anger and his face hardened. In a cold voice, Harry replied, "the loss of my godfather and the aftereffects of possession are not scot free, and your daughter made her own choices to come and was hurt by a murdering psychopath. I assure you he will face justice, be it muggle or magical, but I'd appreciate you placing blame where it is due."

Mr. Granger's voice hardened as well. "Be that as it may, none of this would have happened if our Hermione hadn't gone with you." At that Harry's face softened, as did his voice.

"I know, and I'm working hard to make sure that doesn't happen again. That's why I'm here, actually." It was stretching the truth, but it did the trick and the Grangers grudgingly opened the door to let him in.

"Fine. I'll go get Hermione." Mr. Granger stomped off up the stairs while Mrs. Granger disappeared into the kitchen to make tea. As she finished she brought him a cup and took a seat on the couch, gesturing for him to do the same.

He would have liked to, but several things stopped him. First, he wasn't all that comfortable with the place he was in and why he was there. The second was that he knew Hermione too well.

Sure enough, with a cry of "Harry!" a brown haired missile launched at him in a grapple hug and they both fell sideways onto the couch. Harry couldn't help himself and burst out laughing. He was quickly joined by Hermione.

Regaining their balance the two teens sat down and faced her parents. "Harry, whatever are you doing here?! Does Dumbledore know you're here? How did you even get here? Did the Dursley's let you come? How did you find me?"

When Hermione stopped to take a breath Harry held up his hand to silence her. "Breathe, Hermione. It's good for you." She mock glared at him but held her tongue. "As to why I'm here…well, I'd like to apologize in advance." Before she could ask what he meant he turned, firing silent stunners at her parents and then hitting her with a petrificous totalus.

The look of betrayal in her eyes cut Harry deeply but he'd had no choice. Looking deeply into her eyes he whispered "Legilimens".

Upon entering her mind he was surprised to find some rudimentary defenses in place, but this was Hermione, he reckoned, and she'd probably read several books on the subject as soon as she'd heard it mentioned last year. Despite her obvious effort Harry had no problems bypassing her defenses and immediately began digging around in her memories of Dumbledore and the Weasley's, hating himself the whole time.

He found what he'd pretty much expected. There was an admiration and a deep trust of authority figures, especially Dumbledore. Ron she had a crush on and found both annoying and, here Harry shuddered, _cute_. Still, she was in no way in Dumbledore's pocket and didn't suspect him of anything, especially betraying Harry or paying Ron to do so. Confirming what he saw, Harry swiftly pulled out of her thoughts, desperately trying to ignore the tears running down his friend's face.

Ending the binding spell he leaned back and braced himself. She didn't disappoint. _SMACK!_ "How dare you?! How _could_ you?! How-"

Harry cast a silencio on her and resigned himself to receiving a cold shoulder from his friend for a while. Hopefully she would understand.

"Hermione, I need you to stop talking and listen for a moment. I know what I did was wrong and you have every reason to be mad at me, but there are more important things we need to discuss." He stared into her eyes, begging for her trust, and after a few moments she nodded. He released the spell and sat back.

"Fine," Hermione spat. "What's so important you had to stun my parents and dig through my head?"

"This." He cancelled the glamor on himself and pulled out a copy of his Gringotts heritage test, handing it to her silently. She took turns gaping at him, and then the paper, and then him, and then the paper. As she opened her mouth to say something, Harry held up a hand and said softly, "there's more."

"This," he pulled out a paper, "is a list of all the withdrawals made from my vault, the Potter vault, since my parent's died." She looked it over and when her face took on a mask of confusion, he continued. "You'll notice that Dumbledore and the Weasley's have both helped themselves to what isn't theirs. You'll also notice that none of it was ever spent on me except each fall on school books."

"What-"

He cut her off and pulled out another paper, "This is the results of my medical exam done at Gringotts last month." He handed it to her and continued. "Ignoring the products of abuse, which I point out that Dumbledore knew about and yet didn't change, you'll find that there were blocks on my magic placed by none other than Dumbledore himself. There was also residual dark magic from-that night- that Dumbledore _must_ have noticed."

"Harry, I don't-"

"This," he pulled out another paper, "is a ward analysis of number 4 Privet drive. Dumbledore insisted that blood wards my mother made kept me safe there. Except the analysis shows that Dumbledore himself placed the wards, which are illegal, I might add, to draw from my magic. In combination with the magical binding I should be dead right now."

Hermione was now staring at him, eyes still teary, looking totally confused.

"The point of this, Hermione, is that Dumbledore isn't who he says he is. He's been using me for his own gains. For what purpose I'm honestly not quite sure, but it can't be good or legal. He's been paying Ron to be my friend ever since we met on the platform. My whole life is a lie Hermione, and I had to be sure that you weren't in on it."

That finally snapped her out of her reverie. "I would never betray you!"

"If I had asked you if you thought Ron would ten minutes ago, I bet you would have said the same thing." She shut her mouth with an audible click, shamed. "It's not personal, Hermione, I just don't know who to trust anymore." He sounded lost and young and Hermione couldn't help herself. She leaned in and crushed him in a hug.

"Oh Harry, I'm so sorry." He smiled weakly at her and hugged her back.

"Thanks. For what it's worth, I'm sorry too." She nodded and hugged him tighter.

After a few minutes they pulled apart.

"Harry," she began hesitantly, "are you sure…" He nodded seriously and looked her dead in the eye.

"He's guilty, Hermione. They both are." He could see she wasn't convinced.

"Maybe the money isn't for that. Maybe it's for something else."

"Like what?" She thought for a few minutes and sighed in frustration.

"The order? Or wards? I don't really know but there must be something!" Harry smiled at her sadly and stood.

"I know it's hard for you to accept but they really aren't the good guys here. They never were. Still, I'm not expecting you to suddenly turn on everything you knew and believed with open arms and pledge your undying allegiance to me." He didn't mention that Neville had done exactly that, as had Susan and Daphne. "You have the evidence in your hands. Think on it, really _think_ on it. Don't just trust your view that all authority figures are good. I mean, look at Umbridge."

"She was from the ministry, though."

"Yes, but do you truly believe Dumbledore couldn't have found another teacher? Or didn't know that a teacher was torturing students in his school? You've read Hogwarts, A History. You know the wards tell him things like that, and when giant snakes are moving around the school. Think about it Hermione, and try to see what I see."

"What if I don't," she asked bravely.

He shrugged. "Then you don't. You go on living your life. Marry Ron, settle down, have little red headed babies. Nothing changes. We can still even hang out sometimes. But I won't be able to share everything with you, not if I can't trust you."

"So you're making me choose?" She sounded so lost and confused that Harry was having a hard time keeping his nonchalant attitude in place.

"No, Hermione, they are. But don't worry right now. You have all summer to think it over. When I see you on the train you can tell me what you think. For now, though, enjoy time with your parents." He waved his hand and her parents started to wake up.

"I really am sorry Hermione, but I have no choice." He stepped out the door and waved goodbye to her for what could possibly be the last time. Then with a small pop he was gone, leaving a totally bewildered and heart-broken Hermione behind.

When Harry got home and saw the owls holding presents from Ron and Hermione he snapped. Tossing off his robes he stalked to the reinforced dueling room they'd made in the basement and systematically began pulverizing dummies. When they all lay in pieces he would reparo them and start over. And so it went.

Daphne found him testing his bone exploding hex on a dummy two hours later, exhausted and sweaty and shaking. Gently lowering his arm and absentmindedly repairing the dummy she led him over to a chair and sat down on his lap.

"Since this morning was so successful I'm guessing that you encountered problems with Hermione?" As she spoke she massaged his shoulders and he slowly began to relax.

Eventually he responded. "It's just not fair, to me or to her. I show up out of the blue, tell her everything she knows is wrong, and make her choose between the only two friends she's ever had. I didn't even give her a choice."

"You didn't have a choice."

"That's better than being given two choices that suck. She either sticks with Ron and betrays me, or sticks with me and betrays not only Ron but Dumbledore, whom she idolizes."

"Remember when we were talking about what happened at the department of mysteries and you told us that your friends had made their own choices and chose to stick with you? Well, except for Ron, who got paid, but still."

"Yes."

"Well, if you trusted your friends to make the right choices then, trust them to do so now."

"It's not that. I mean, I want her to choose me, but it won't kill me if she doesn't. These last few months turned years it's only been you I need. Sorry to sound sappy, but it's true. It's just that she was one of my first friends and I feel bad putting her through this."

"I know, but that's her choice now, not yours. Besides, you're forgetting that she has a third option."

"What's that?"

"She could always choose to stay out of the drama and go her own separate way. Look, I may not like her, but I agree that she's pretty smart. She'll be able to figure this all out, just like you had to. And she has a loving family to support her, just like you." He nodded and hugged her. "Now, said loving family is upstairs putting together a birthday party just for you. Go take a shower and then meet us in the dining room. I want cake."

At that he finally smiled. "Yes ma'am." He got up and headed over to the stairwell.

"Harry?" He turned to look back at her. "It'll be okay, I promise." He nodded and disappeared up the stairs. As he left she sighed. "Oh Harry, why does it always have to happen to you?"

Harry felt marginally better once he was clean and dressed once more. As he headed downstairs to his first ever birthday party he thought back to the changes in his life. Yes he lost a family, but he'd also gained one, too. A big, loving family who told him the truth and listened to his opinions. A family who believed in him. A family who made him cake.

He grinned and opened the doors, being instantly covered in confetti and tackle hugged by Astoria, and realized that no matter what happened with Hermione, he was happy with his life right now.


	15. Reactions

**Boy-Who-Lived Now Boy-Who-Rules! Amelia Bones Becomes Acting Minister!**

 _Wizarding Britain was taken by storm earlier today as Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, revealed his heritage in front of the Wizengamot, claiming the title of not one but six Most Ancient and Noble Houses! Officially now Lord Potter-Black-Peverell-Gryffindor-Slytherin-Ravenclaw, now only was he dressed to impress but he radiated power and confidence as he stood in front of his peers, arguing for his right to sit amongst the other remaining members of "the twelve", Cyrus Greengrass, Augusta Longbottom, and Amelia Bones._

 _What does this mean for wizarding Britain? Well, that involves a bit of a history lesson._ _"The T_ _welve", as they're called, were the original twelve families that, thousands of years ago, put together_ _the w_ _izarding government_ _of Britain_ _, creating the ministry and Wizengamot. These twelve families were_ _Potter, Black, Peverell, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Longbottom, Bones, Em_ _yrs, Pendragon, and Greengrass. The Peverell, Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Emyrs, and Pendragon houses were thought to have died out, but clearly that is not the case, as evidenced by a Gringotts heritage test authenticated by Albus Dumbledore._

 _Now, the important thing here is that the twelve can pass or veto any laws or acts as long as they have a majority vote, requiring seven living members of the twelve to agree. This vote has been used only four times in history, partially due to the difficulty is having enough members alive and in agreement to have a majority. Harry Potter now holds six of these votes and thus an agreement by the Bones, Longbottom, or Greengrass family can see him passing or rejecting any legislation regarding Wizarding Britain._

 _Lord Potter's (we'll abbreviate his title for the benefit of our readers) first act was to call charges against Madam Umbridge, undersecretary to Minister Fudge, for assault on six most ancient and nobles houses through use of using a blood quill in detentions. Lord Potter's scarred hand was proof enough, but what really proved shocking was Umbridge's admission under veritassium that Minister Fudge had ordered her to use the quill on him, actually supplying her with the dark and illegal artifact. Fudge was immediately arrested and a vote of No Confidence was called, removing him from office and replacing him with the previous head of the Auror Department Amelia Bones._

 _Minister Bones' first act as minister was to declare the possession of the dark mark illegal and vote that anyone discovered having the mark shall be immediately questioned under veritassium. When it was pointed out that several prominent society members were forced to take the mark, she placated them by stating that the first question asked would be if they willingly took the mark, and if they didn't they would be administered the antidote and cleared of all charges. The vote passed with flying colors and the meeting came to an end._

 _What this means for society is unknown at this point, though things don't look good. Lord Potter's mental history is worrying, varying from attention-seeking to outright aggressive, and several schoolmates cite him as being "moody" and "dark". Is it possible that he's taking after the figure who gave him his prominent scar? And if so, will we be able to do anything about it?_

 _Another worrying point is Lord Potter's lack of previous political involvement. This was the first Wizengamot meeting he ever attended and, being raised by muggles, he knows little of wizarding tradition or policies. That he, a sixteen year old boy, now holds more power than the minister, which he openly supported, is another cause of worry._

 _We here at the Daily Prophet don't know what will happen next, but we'll make sure to keep our readers updated on all the current events. For more on the history of Harry Potter see pg 5-6. For information on Amelia Bones see pg 3-4. For information on Fudge and Umbridge see pg 6-8._

The Burrow

It was a relatively quiet evening at the Burrow. Arthur was still at work, something to do with man-eating trash cans in London. Ron and Ginny were out on their brooms and the twins were in their rooms doing who knows what. Molly Weasley watched her youngest children playing through the window, smiling in contentment, and began to prepare dinner for her family. Pulling out her wand she gave a flick, watching as bread began kneading itself and the turkey was seasoned.

She was just pulling out the rolls when Errol, Ron's owl, flew into the kitchen window twice. Molly rolled her eyes and opened the window, retrieving the paper and an envelope from the rather squashed-looking bird. Setting them to the side she gave the owl a treat and yelled out the window. "Dinner!"

Soon Ron and Ginny were at the table, both rather dirty and in need of a shower, reaching for the fresh, warm rolls. A suspicious thud from the twins room told her they up to their usual mischief. Mumbling about pranksters and toffees she sat down at the table, having long given up on telling the twins to hurry up. Pouring herself a nice cup of tea she sat at the table, sighing happily and opening the paper in content.

Seeing the title she dropped her tea, the mug hitting the wood floors and splintering into hundreds of tiny pieces, and screamed. Immediately her children were on their feet, wands drawn and ready for trouble. Thuds on the stairs told her the twins had heard and were on their way.

"What is it mum?"

"You alright there?"

She gave a weak smile at her twin sons and nodded. "Everything's fine dears. Just saw a spider." Ron paled at this and the twins snickered, patting her on the back and heading back up the stairs. Ginny, however, was not so easily fooled.

"You've never screamed at spiders, and you weren't looking at the floor when you screamed. What really happened?" Glancing nervously at the stairs Molly handed the paper to her daughter, Ron reading the title over her shoulder.

"WHAT?! He's a LORD?"

"Ron," Molly said sharply, giving a significant look at the stairs. He scowled at her but lowered his voice.

"As if he doesn't get enough attention, he has to go and do this? Oh, Lord Potter, however can I serve you," he mocked in a falsetto voice. Ginny elbowed him and smiled at her mom.

"Don't you get it, though? This is a good thing! Not only is he ridiculously wealthy, but our children will inherit the title!"

"But he's not going to live long enough to give you kids." Ginny rolled her eyes at him.

"Of course he will. I'll make sure I'm not on anything when we get married, and I'll convince him to marry as soon as I'm of age. That way everything will be legal but we'll get all the money and fame!"

Ron scowled at that, but nodded. "Fine. As long as I get my money."

"Ron," Molly scolded, "this is your future niece or nephew we're talking about. Do try not to be so insensitive!" He just rolled his eyes and returned to his pancakes.

"I'm just not sure how this is going to affect things. Dumbledore said he had everything under control, but obviously not if the paper is anything to go by. What if he breaks free and goes off and does something stupid?"

"Mum, don't worry about it. If anyone can handle this it's Dumbledore. He is the most powerful wizard alive, after all." Appeased somewhat, Molly nodded and returned to the mail, opening the enveloped that had come with the paper.

Upon opening it she gasped held a hand to her heart, all her blood draining from her face.

"What is it now?"

Voice shaking, Molly told her son, "It's a notification from Gringotts stating that we have until the 31st of August to repay all the money we took from the Potter vault before they enact goblin justice upon us."

"What? All that money and he wants the little bit we were given? I deserve that money! It was promised to me! Besides, they're just goblins, what can they do?" Ginny rolled her eyes at him.

"Honestly, don't you listen to Binns at all? The goblin's are their own nation and have their own laws. In response to thievery they demand all funds stolen and cut off your hand. If you can't pay they make you work it off in the dragon pens. They also ban you from Gringotts for life."

"So? We're wizards, not goblins. They can't do any of that to us." That Ginny nodded at. It was true.

"Yes, but this letter says that they consider Harry a member of the goblin nation, and his status as Goblin Friend allows them to deal with crimes against him the goblin way," Molly said shakily.

Ron looked a little nervous at that, but quickly shook it off. "Dumbledore will take care of it. He's way more powerful than _Potter_."

Ginny nodded at that but didn't look convinced. "Do we have enough to pay them back with?"

"What? NO! It's my money! I'm not giving it back! I deserve it, having to put up with all his whining for all those years!"

"Ron! We're talking life or death here!" Ginny turned to her mother and asked her question again.

"Can we?"

Molly shook her head slowly. "We can, but it'd clean our account right out. We wouldn't have a knut to our name, not even to buy food. Even your father wouldn't be able to miss that, dense though he is."

Somber silence filled the kitchen. "So what do we do," Ginny finally asked.

Molly sighed. "I don't know, dear. I'll floo Dumbledore after breakfast and see if he can do something about this. It was all his idea anyway, I'm sure he has a plan to regain control."

Fred and George gave each other identical serious looks and silently crept up the stairs, mulling over what they had just heard their family confess to. They had no idea what was going on, but either way, Harry needed to know.

"I think, brother of mine, that we've a letter to write." George, or was it Fred, whispered to his twin.

"Indeed. Several letters, if I heard things right." Fred, or was it George, responded. Together they disappeared into their room, the door clicking ominously behind them.

Hogwarts 

In the Headmaster's office of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry one man was doing an impressive imitation of a chicken with its head cut off. Papers were strewn across the floor, floo powder had gotten everywhere, and all the little trinkets that lined his shelves had been thrown away when it was realized they no longer worked. Dumbledore was one panicked man.

Said wizard had just completed his fourth floo call that hour, this one to his long-time friend Alastair "Mad-Eye" Moody. Moody had reported that none of the order members that were assigned to keep an eye on 4 Privet Drive had seen the boy in several weeks but they all assumed he was just sulking in his room, as he'd done earlier in the summer. When asked if he could see into Harry's room, Moody had scowled and said that the blood wards were blocking his view, so no, he couldn't. Sighing in frustration Dumbledore absently thanked his friend and ended the call, already thinking ahead to his next move.

The boy had destroyed all his usual monitoring charms in a fit of temper earlier that year. He was no longer able to tell where Harry was, the state of the wards, or the state of his health. Not only that but he'd not been seen in weeks and when he'd shown up today he'd reeked of power. Dumbledore had been nearly blinded when he'd tried to view Harry's normally dull and clouded aura. This was not good, not good at all.

Dumbledore was a strategist. While certain people were praised for always thinking one step ahead, Dumbledore was thinking 8 steps ahead. And by thinking 8 steps ahead, he was able to do damage control enough of the time to have things always go his way. The last time it hadn't had been with Grindlewald, and that had turned out to be a mess. He couldn't have that happen with Harry, too much depended on it. Sighing, he plopped down into his chair and reached for a lemon drop. This day just couldn't get worse.

The beautiful snowy gray hawk owl that flew through the window and settled down in front of him clearly had a different opinion. If owls could smirk, Dumbledore was sure it would be smirking. After he undid the ties that held on that day's paper and a thick envelope it leaped for Fawkes perch, its' chirps and barks seemingly being used to communicate with the phoenix, who was cocking its head and the bird and watching it curiously.

Chuckling at the sight Dumbledore glanced at the paper and stopped cold, the blood draining from his face. He'd hoped to do a little more damage control before the press published anything. Clearly, though, the Daily Prophet had thought the news important enough to publish a special issue. Scowling, he read through it quickly, sighing in relief at the end. It wasn't too bad, most factual, actually, and it didn't mention Harry's allegations at all. In fact, it painted Harry in a rather bad light, as a rebellious teenager using his heritage to take over the government. This could actually work in Dumbledore's favor.

He was going to have to doing something about the boy, though. He wasn't sure how Harry had learned what he had, or how he had changed so dramatically in such a short time. The last time Harry was spotted had been six weeks ago. He was scrawny and small and visibly depressed. The Harry he'd met yesterday radiated power and confidence, plus he'd undergone intense physical development. Even his scar seemed to be smaller.

A brief flicker of fear shot through Dumbledore before he shoved it aside. No, it couldn't possibly be that he'd removed it. After all, removing them was impossible. He must have been using a glamor. No, he would have seen through a glamor. Perhaps a muggle product? Maybe he'd been hiding in the muggle world? But then how would he have made it to Gringotts to take the heritage test? And why had they emancipated him without the permission of his guardian? There were too many questions and not enough answers.

Setting his worries aside momentarily he opened the next envelope, hoping for a letter from someone who'd spotter Harry. What he found, however, was much less pleasant. The goblins, it seemed, were not happy with Dumbledore's handling of Harry's funds and were demanding that everything removed from the vault that wasn't used directly for Harry's care, including artifacts, be returned by August 31st or he'd face goblin law.

Frowning, he grabbed some floo powder and headed off to Gringotts. He couldn't take a blow to his reputation right now, and being banned from Gringotts was considered even worse than being sent to Azkaban. The entire wizarding economy depended on Gringotts. Work payments, tuition, and large purchases were all directly deposited in or taken from a Gringotts vault. This wouldn't just affect him, but Hogwarts as well.

Striding through Diagon alley he climbed the seven steps to the bank and strode through the doors, where he was instantly met with two angry goblins wielding very sharp axes at him, blocking his entry to the bank.

"What is the meaning of this? I demand access to my accounts at once!" People were looking over at the commotion and Dumbledore started to sweat.

"Thieves are not welcome here in this bank, especially ones that steal from innocent children." He could hear the shocked gasps and the whispers circulating and knew he had to act fast. Putting on his innocent grandfather persona he tried again.

"You must have misunderstood. The funds I removed were for young Harry's protection and upkeep, nothing more."

"And yet he lived in a cupboard in rags until the age of eleven and was never told of his heritage, as the law demands, nor was he placed with the families designated in his parents will." It seemed the goblins wanted to air his dirty laundry in front of as many people as possible.

"He needed to be placed with his relatives because of the wards, and I'm sure his treatment is exaggerated. As for his heritage, I felt it best he not know, as he has so much on his shoulders already."

"You felt the law was less important than the circumstance?"

"In this case, yes."

"Then what's to say you didn't feel the say way when you helped yourself to young Harry's trust fund? Way before he went to Hogwarts and for much more than any security would ever cost, I might add."

Dumbledore drew himself up, changing tactics. "I am Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, holder of an Order of Merlin, First Class, Supreme Mugwump of the ICW, Grand Sorcerer, and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. I will not be treated like this, accused of some petty crime. I demand to speak to Ragnok."

"Here you are just a wizard who has attacked a friend of the goblin nation. You are no longer welcome here. You have until August 31st to make restitution to the accounts you stole from or there will be consequences, and not even all your titles will keep you from goblin justice." With that the goblin extended his arm and threw Dumbledore out of Gringotts and into the street, where he fell into a puddle of mud.

Attempting to regain his image he called for Fawkes, who obediently came and retrieved him, transporting him back to his office. Needing to get to people before the rumors did he reached for a pendant and pushed in his magic, sending out the call for an emergency order meeting to occur that night.

4 Privet Drive

Vernon Dursley was sweating bullets. Straining to hear the conversation going on downstairs he opened the door a little wider with his food, his hands otherwise occupied tossing things into a nearby trunk. In went his shirt, pants, lucky business suit, all the spare cash he'd been hoarding, toiletries, a razor, and whatever else he thought he'd need while on the run. His thoughts were racing furiously, divided between packing, ideas of where he could lay low, the distractive flashing of red and blue lights, and cursing the little freak whose fault this all was.

True to Harry's word, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs had indeed been tipped off and began an investigation into one Vernon Dursley. Instead of focusing on the money being received for childcare, however, they were more focused on the thousands of pounds Vernon had managed to embezzle from Grunning's Drill Company. That and some rather sketchy tax filings going back for several years.

Officer Burke knew this was a long time coming. Dudley Dursley had been a blemish on the community ever since he'd been able to walk. Several reports had been filed against the youngster for bullying, and Burke knew that even more incidents had gone unnoticed. The problem was, so far nothing had been able to stick. Either the witnesses were scared into dropping charges by the boy or his father, or there was no evidence to prove the charges true. Now, though, Burke was confident the boy would finally get what was coming to him.

Dudley Dursley had been out with friends, smoking cigarettes in the park, when a young boy walked past them towards the swings. The gang had resumed normal activities, following the kid and verbally instigating a fight. When the boy had tried to flee Dursley's friend Piers had grabbed him and held him while Dudley gave the "welcome to the neighborhood" beating. The boy had eventually made it home, where he told his father what had happened. The father, a private detective, had instantly began monitoring the Dursley son for any evidence of the attack. That morning he'd walked into the station and personally handed Burke a file containing photos and recordings of the incident plus more, and Burke had instantly called for an arrest warrant.

He snapped out of his thoughts as Petunia Dursley brought her son into the room, glaring furiously at the police for daring to insinuate her duddikins was anything less than perfect. Dudley didn't even get to open his mouth before Burke stepped forward and cuffed him, absently stating his rights while keeping an eye out for the family's reaction. Just as he suspected, the mother was alternately screaming at the police for touching her son, or sobbing for her "poor little baby". Rolling his eyes, he turned to the doorway, fearing the father's reaction most of all. Vernon Dursley had a reputation of being a violent prick, and Burke wasn't going to be blindsided by anything.

"Sir." Lieutenant Brady, Burke's longtime partner, stepped forward and tapped Burke on the shoulder.

"Yes." Brady gestured behind him where Vernon Dursley, in a ridiculous black sweatshirt that Burke assumed was Dursley's attempt at staying inconspicuous, stood in handcuffs, his face set in panic.

"We found him stuck in the window upstairs, sir. Apparently he saw our lights, packed a bag, and tried to sneak out the window. Unfortunately he didn't take into account the dimensions of the window. We had to knock a hole in the wall to get him out."

Inwardly, Burke burst out laughing. That was just too precious. Outwardly he retained his serious demeanor and turned to his Lieutenant. "Obviously he has something to hide if he tried to run. Best take him downtown and lock him up for now. I've a friend over in the revenue office that mentioned an investigation into the Dursley's. I'll give him a call and let him know what's happening." Brady nodded and dragged the father into the police car to sit next to his son, who was still crying for his mummy. Nodding to the wife, ignoring her screams of rage, he turned and drove away, trying to keep his chuckles to a minimum.

Petunia stood at the end of the drive and they left, feeling her life come down around her all at once. She could already hear the neighbors talking and knew that their reputation would be ruined. Plus her baby had been taken away by those nasty people. Who knew what would happen to him in prison. Rushing to get her purse she jumped into the car and headed towards the police station, avidly cursing all things Potter the whole time she drove there, and then back when told neither of her family members would make bail. What had she done to deserve this?!

12 Grimmauld Place

"Thank you for coming on such short notice. I'm afraid I have some terrible news to deliver."

"Does this have anything to do with the article in the Prophet?" Kingsley Shacklebolt had been at work when the article had come out, but even then the rumors had swept through the building and he'd known the day's events before long. Frankly he was torn. He was thrilled that Fudge was gone, but displeased that one angst-riddled teenager now held primary control of the government.

Dumbledore nodded his head solemnly and sighed. "I'm afraid that young Harry has reacted poorly to the death of his godfather. Today's events have confirmed my theories. I'm afraid Mr. Potter is going dark."

Molly Weasley gasped dramatically. That would explain why Harry had ordered the goblins to destroy her family. Hermione also gasped, but for a different reason. She'd known Harry for five long years, and she had absolutely no doubt that he would never, ever turn dark. She looked to Ron, knowing he'd think the same, and was shocked to find him nodding grimly.

"Ronald! You know Harry would never turn dark!" He shrugged at her.

"Sorry 'Mione, but you know how angry he's been lately, snapping at anyone and everyone. He's been keeping secrets, too."

"Because he was traumatized and being lied to!"

"True," Dumbledore interrupted, "And I take responsibility for my part in things. I should have done more to help him after what happened." He looked down sorrowfully, his face riddled with false guilt. "Still, that does not change the facts. He's taken steps against both me and his peers, and taken control of the government. He may not be following Voldemort, but he's set himself up with an enormous amount of power. He's much too young to handle it, which is why I kept his heritage from him. I've seen enough dark lords rise to recognize the signs."

Remus had had enough. "You can't possibly believe Harry's going dark! He wouldn't!"

"Perhaps not the Harry we knew, but grief can change a person. You of all people should know that."

"How did this happen," Molly Weasley asked.

"One of the people he was seen associating with was the Greengrass family, who didn't support the light last war and have two daughters in Slytherin."

"Just because they didn't support the light doesn't mean they were dark." Hermione hated arguing with the headmaster but she had to stand up for her friend.

"I'm afraid their support was obvious. Many who supported him remained seen as neutrals so they could garner more support. Besides, there is other evidence. Harry looked very different and was much more magically powerful when I saw him earlier. This is not naturally possible, and thus he must have used dark rituals. Who better to provide them than an ancient family with a library full of dark materials?"

Hermione opened her mouth to argue when Ginny butted in.

"What can we do to save him?" Ginny Weasley looked at Dumbledore with a mixture of determination and worry. She'd practiced in the mirror for an hour before the meeting.

"I'm worried they may be using a love potion on Harry. As you know, the one thing that can beat a love potion is true love. To that end I'd like you to stick to Harry and try to break the potions hold." He turned to Ron and Hermione. "He'll also need his friends to help the love in him fight the darkness. I'd like you both to stick to him closely and tell me if he does anything suspicious."

Hermione respected authority and every fiber of her being was screaming at her to obey, but her logical mind was doubtful of the situation. It just didn't add up. She knew Harry wasn't dark, and Dumbledore's arguments could all be explained away. It was almost like he was trying to make Harry look bad.

"You want us to spy on him?"

Dumbledore looked at her, his best grandfatherly face on. "Of course not, my dear, only do what is best for him. If we know of the darkness we can fight it better and free him from its bondage." She nodded slowly, still looking unconvinced.

Dumbledore turned to the others in the room. "As for the rest of you, I need every possible resource out looking for Harry. He refused to tell me where he was staying and I'm afraid he may be being held against his will."

With that done the meeting broke up and the room emptied. Most had believed the lies the Headmaster had fed them, but a few still looked suspicious. This group included Remus, the twins, Shacklebolt, and Hermione.

As the others left Molly Weasley approached Dumbledore, throwing up a silencing spell at the wall. "What the hell is happening? You said you had everything under control, and then we get this in the mail!" She shoved the Gringotts letter at him and he sighed.

"Have no fear, Molly. When we get him back we can have him rescind this order and everything will be back on track. The lordship is unexpected but I can convince him to let me proxy his seats, citing my greater political experience."

"Fine, but this had better work, or else Arthur will find out and the walls will come crumbling down around us."

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it." She nodded and left, collecting her children on the way, not noticing the extendable ears being hastily shoved into the twins' pockets or the significant look they gave each other.

Dumbledore headed back to Hogwarts in a slightly better mood. Soon Harry would be found and back under his control, and all would be well once more. Fawkes, hearing his thoughts, sadly shook his head and turned his back to the deluded old fool.

Greengrass Manor

Harry had just finished telling Neville, Susan, and Luna about the meeting when an owl arrived at the window. Upon hearing the descriptions of Fudge's face they'd all laughed themselves silly and collapsed onto the floor. The owl thus went unnoticed for several minutes until Neville looked up and spotted it.

"Oh, sorry fella," he said, getting up off the floor and letting the owl in. It was a spastic little thing that looked close to death. Harry, spotting it, immediately tensed.

"That's Errol, the Weasley's owl." Tension filled the now silent room as Harry retrieved the letter and opened it, absently feeding the exhausted owl a treat.

Daphne watched his face like a hawk, silently vowing to rip the Weasley's apart one by one if they ruined this day for her boyfriend. As he began to grimace she tensed, reaching for her wand. Luckily for them, Harry suddenly smiled and looked up at her. Seeing her tense posture he grinned and walked over to give her a kiss.

"No worries love, it wasn't Ron writing, it was the twins. Seems they overheard a conversation between Molly, Ron, and Ginny that made them suspicious and decided to owl me about it.

"What does that mean for us," Susan asked curiously.

"It means that we now have two more allies," Harry said with a grin. Susan grinned back at him.

"Excellent."

"Indeed. Not a bad birthday present at all."

"Does that mean we don't need to give you your presents? Cause I can return mine," Susan quipped. Harry mock scowled at her in response and she laughed.

"Come on birthday boy, we've been gone from the party long enough. Time for cake!"


	16. Time Flies

The next month flew by in a haze of training and planning. Harry and the others had decided to avoid the majority of the fallout of their recent actions by making use of the goblin time chamber once more, this time with Neville, Susan, Fred, and George accompanying them.

The addition of Fred and George had been a last minute change. They'd actually run into the pair on their way to the bank to begin their training. The twins, seeing their opportunity, had drawn Harry into an alley and explained everything they'd overheard at their house and pledged their support to him, expressing disgust at their family's activities. A significant look from Daphne had Harry inviting them to join their training. The twins had jumped at the chance and disappeared into Gringotts, reappearing a week later with a whole slew of new talents.

They'd all decided a week real time, which equaled just less than 6 months in the chamber, would be enough for their purposes since they didn't have to have nearly as many lessons as Harry and Daphne had had before. Susan and Neville had been taught Occlumency from a young age, as is common in older families, and Fred and George had been teaching themselves since their third year to avoid being caught pranking. The four also didn't need the crash course in wizarding politics, law, and etiquette that Harry had, further freeing up time. In the end they narrowed down their focus of training to physical fighting, magical fighting, animagus transformation, healing, and the basics of goblin and elven apparition and communication.

They hadn't been able to obtain the use of Ironfist for the week as he had already been gone too long that summer. Daphne had suggested that instead of getting a different trainer they simply learn from herself and Harry. Not only would it create a cohesive unit but it would also be easier in teaching the group things that would benefit their specific situation. Harry had agreed and their days took on a distinct pattern.

They would rise as the charmed sun did and do individual physical training, including running, dodging, and basic martial arts, for two hours. For the next hour they would practice healing, both on themselves and their teammates. They would also undo any pranks that the twins or Harry and Daphne had done. Oftentimes a simple finite wouldn't work.

The next two hours were devoted to magical dueling. This began with the teaching of a new hex or curse, the practice of it, as well as practicing shielding and aiming. They developed several 'games' that they enjoyed doing during this time. One was to see who could hit the most targets accurately and in the quickest time. Harry proved to be the fastest, but surprisingly Fred and George often were just a second or two behind. The other game was a shielding one. Each person would put up a standard protego and one person would throw spells at them. Each minute they held out they added another shooter. Whoever lasted the longest won. This had the added benefit of boosting their power slowly over time and also improving their endurance.

Another round of healing later and it was lunch time. The elves had been given special directions to check all food for prank potions and powders, but occasionally one slipped through and someone would either turn colors (thanks to Harry and Daphne) or into various animals (Thanks to Fred and George). Not to be left out, Susan and Neville began to throw their own pranks into the mix, once turning their fellow team members into various carnivorous plants. Every once in a while Harry still had the urge to eat flies.

Remembering how tired they used to be, Harry and Daphne gave everyone an hour of free time after lunch to be used for napping. While napping was a primary act during this time, some of the best pranks were also devised then.

Following lunch they would meet in the classrooms to be taught (or in Harry and Daphne's case, to teach) the basics of goblin and elven magics. Silent apparition was proving to be the most difficult for Sue and Neville, while elven apparition posed a problem for the twins. One thing they all excelled at, however, was communicating telepathically. Turns out Fred and George had been born with the ability, which gave them the power to "twin speak", as they called it. Once they learned how to expand it to other people it was a breeze. For Neville and Susan Harry decided to use the memory of Tinky's lesson to teach them. They both picked it up rather quickly.

An hour later they all trooped back over to the dueling chamber where they spent the afternoon working together on strategy and magical dueling.

Ever since Harry had come out of Gringotts free from the burdens on his mind and magic, he'd been trying to think of a way to take out Voldemort once and for all. The goblins had reported that they had already found and destroyed two more horcruxes: a ring at Voldemort's father's home, and Hufflepuff's cup, which had been hidden in the Lestrange Vault. Since he'd destroyed the diary in second year and they'd removed the one in his head, that just left three more and Voldemort himself.

It wasn't until Susan and Neville came to him with an idea that they really hit upon a solution to their Voldemort problem.

"Hey Harry, can we talk to you?" Harry looked up from his book on weaponized potions and smiled at his year mates. They'd only been in the chamber for a week chamber time, but already he'd seen lots of improvement in them.

"Sure guys, what's up?" Susan and Neville looked at each other hesitantly, Susan making a shooing motion at Neville. Nervously, he stepped up.

"Well, uh, Susan and I were thinking…"

"About?"

"Well, the death eaters, they're stupid, right?" Harry nodded, unsure of where the conversation was going. "And they all pretty much know each other, yah?" Again Harry nodded. "So, Susan and I were thinking, they probably hang out together a lot. You know, in the same place."

"And?"

Neville looked uncomfortable for a moment, then took a deep breath and stood tall, looking Harry resolutely in the eye. "Why not take them out then instead of during attacks?" Harry thought for a moment.

"You mean assemble a strike team?" He nodded and Susan stepped forward.

"Exactly. It doesn't make sense that we wait for them to start killing people before showing up and fighting back. Auntie always says that if someone's trying to kill you, the best defense is to kill them first. With our skills, your power, and Auntie's permission, we can start taking out the Death Eaters before they can get to us."

Harry stood, closing his book, and beckoned for them to follow him. Stopping to grab Daphne and the twins he chose a classroom and motioned for them to all sit down. Then he asked Susan and Neville to repeat what they'd told him. The reaction was very positive.

"That's great! Not only will it narrow down their numbers, but it will provide us with practical experience." Daphne's eyes were shining in glee and it took all of her control to not bounce around in excitement.

"It's a great idea," Fred began.

"But how will we know where they are," George finished.

Harry thought for a moment, then smiled. "The goblins! They said they'd begun to monitor the accounts of suspected death eaters. If all the death eaters were in one place, it stands to reason they'd spend money on it. By definition the goblins would have to know where it was. Hell, they probably warded it!"

Here Daphne latched on to the idea. "And since you're a goblin Friend and they're trying to kill you, the goblins have the right to let you through the wards! They'd be sitting ducks!"

And so the group dueling sessions took on a more specific purpose, to prepare them for assaults on death eater hideouts. They quickly developed a method and fine-tuned it along the way. Daphne would transform into Scout and scout the area, looking for guards, traps, and at the wards. She'd then escape to the trees nearby and make her report.

The twins, at Harry's asking, had developed magical walkie talkies that combined the spells of their extendable ears with a modified sonorous and silencio, making it so that you could hear what came out of the walkie talkie, and talk into it as well. They also developed a smaller version that went into the ear like an earbud and worked the same way. It was through these that Daphne made her report, describing the lay of the land to her team nearby.

After Harry, Neville was the most magically powerful in the group. After a crash course in warding taught by Daphne and a goblin healer whose husband was a warder, he quickly became able to break down any ward short of the fidelus. The goblins providing them with the location of the houses would circumvent that problem.

When the wards were down the twins were sent in, since they were the best at causing general mayhem. Their job was to distract and confuse the enemy, drawing their fire and attention away from the entry point, where Harry, Neville, and Daphne would be congregated. When the coast was clear, the trio would make their entry, systematically clearing the grounds until no death eaters were left alive and all hostages were rounded up in a safe area. Harry often used his animagus form to deal with large groups of enemies.

After drawing the enemy away from their base, the twins would lead them into traps they'd designed to incapacitate and kill large numbers of death eaters. Said traps included pits in the ground loaded with spikes at the bottoms and covered in dry leaves, a new take on their portable swamps. Another mimicked a muggle hand grenade, shooting silver spikes that would kill any wizard or werewolf within twenty feet. They picked off survivors with spell work from the cover of transfigured walls and trees and then made their escape with the use of their instant darkness powder.

As the trio cleared the house and the twins distracted and killed the enemy, Susan would find a vantage point and provide a commentary on what was going on both inside and outside, keeping the two teams updated on each other. She also provided covering spell fire and sniped off any stragglers in her range. Finally, she was to provide interference if backup showed up, be it in the form of death eaters or aurors. In this case she stalled them for as long as she could until the team was able to portkey away.

When they'd returned to their base, which would end up being the shrieking shack, Susan and anyone still able would provide healing to the wounded. Susan, they'd quickly discovered, was a natural healer and far better than any of them. She also excelled at potions and was working with the goblin healers at night to develop better healing potions for them.

After they'd been healed they went over their performance via penseive, pointing out their mistakes and making notes for the future.

After that they took a break, showering off the dust and grime and then refueling over dinner. For an hour after dinner they would meet to work on animagus transformations, and then they would have free time until lights out at 10:30.

It was a brutal schedule but it worked beautifully and after six months of it the four newcomers were caught up to Harry and Daphne and they all worked together as a fluid team. Harry was especially proud of the speed at which everyone completed the animagus talent. By the end of six months Susan was scurrying around as a fun and loving ring-tailed lemur, Neville was bounding around as a husky, and the twins were driving them all nuts by turning into red foxes and getting into all sorts of trouble. As such the newly named Stripes, Bandit, Rascal and Swiper were ready to head back to the real time stream.

The first thing they did when they walked out of the chamber was sit down with Ragnok and explain their strike team idea. Ragnok agreed to keep the DE accounts open so they could monitor their whereabouts and then shut them down when they'd been killed or captured. He also told Harry it would be a good time to call upon the debts owed to his six houses from the Malfoy family, so Harry loftily dissolved the marriage of Narcissa and Lucius and demanded repayment of both dowry and all standing debts. Lucius was in for one hell of a week.

Next they called for a meeting of the 12 plus allies and caught up on all the latest happening. It seemed that the reactions from the Wizengamot meeting were mixed. Some thought that Harry was the next dark lord, some that he was their savior. Rolling his eyes at the fickleness of the wizarding population, Harry inquired about the Prophet and Quibbler's accounting.

Luna assured him the Quibbler was painting him in a good light and that the quirrgles weren't providing any resistance to their efforts. Griphook said that he now owned 45% of the Prophet, which, while not a majority, was enough to demand they be more factual in their reporting and less obedient to the ministry's every command. Harry nodded and made a note to visit their offices as soon as possible.

Amelia had the most to say at the meeting as she had been very busy at the ministry. The day she took office she secretly erected dark-mark detectors at every entrance to the ministry and St. Mungo's. Within three days she'd arrested 82 people, all marked, and had interrogated every single one.

"The Prophet had a field day, claiming I was arresting anyone who opposed me and trying to take over the whole society, but since I was well within my rights and the law, no one could do anything but scream.

What really shocked us was when we asked if they had taken the dark mark willingly. They all had done so, and, when asked, told us that you could only take the mark willingly. We then asked what was required to receive the mark and, well, I won't get into the specifics, but to summarize it's a dark ritual that involves at least one murder and one rape." The group collectively grimaced, but Amelia gave a feral grin.

"I've already issued warrants for any death eater that claimed imperious last time. We've only brought in three, but apparently Malfoy's gone into hiding."

Here Harry grinned. "Well, that won't last long, seeing as how I just dissolved his marriage and demanded repayment of the Black dowry in addition to all outstanding debts to all six of my houses. Soon he won't have enough money to hide from anyone, be it goblin or ministry official."

"Excellent. I've also required all aurors to make a loyalty oath by the end of the week or lose their job. I've also demanded that every department head do the same."

"And how is that going over?"

Here she grimaced. "Not well. I've had several threats to bring me to court over this. Still, I'm not asking personal loyalty but loyalty to their jobs. I'm well within my rights and not even the Wizengamot can help them. As to the Prophet, well, the sooner you get those people out from under DE and Fudge's control, the better."

"All right, I'll speak with them tomorrow. Is there anything else we need to discuss?" No one spoke up. "Excellent. There's three weeks until the next Wizengamot meeting but with the way things are going I won't be surprised if an emergency one is called. Either way I'll keep everyone updated. Thank you for coming."

With that the meeting broke up. Amelia and Susan headed home to catch up and Neville headed to visit his grandmother. Griphook pulled the twins aside, handing them Harry's latest gift, a deed to a shop in Diagon Alley that had a two bedroom flat upstairs. Upon receiving it they actually cried, while alternately hugging everyone in reach, especially Harry.

"Well, I figured you'd need your own place since it's not safe at the Burrow anymore. I mean, you'd probably kill Ron the first time he opened his fat mouth. And I've got lots of money to invest, so this kills two birds with one stone. Besides, you guys were there for me when few else were. This is the least I could do." A few more hugs later and the twins were off to explore their new shop.

Since it was a weekday Cyrus headed into his office to do more work, and Evelyn needed to take Astoria robe shopping. For the first time in months Harry and Daphne were finally alone. They had just divested each other of their outer robes and laid down on the couch when Dobby popped in, startling the two apart.

"Master Harry Potter sir!" Comically, Daphne and Harry pushed each other away and sat at opposite ends of the couch.

"Er, yah Dobby?" Harry was hoping the elf wouldn't note Harry's … reaction … to his interrupted activities. Blushing, he reached for a pillow and set it in his lap.

"Master Ragnok is telling Dobby to tell Master Harry Potter sir that Narcissa Black is requesting his presence at the bank."

"Excellent. Thank you Dobby. Tell Ragnok I'll be right over." Nodding, Dobby popped away. Closing his eyes, Harry tried to focus. _Dead puppies. Aragog. Aragog eating dead puppies._ Nope, that wasn't working. _Ron's disgusting table manners. Snape. Snape and Ron having babies. Ew!_ That did the trick, and Harry was able to stand again without hiding behind a pillow. He turned to Daphne, who was trying to hide a smirk.

"Alright. I'm headed off to Gringotts and then I may as well stop by the Prophet while I'm out. Anything you need?"

"Just you, but it looks like that will have to wait."

Harry groaned in frustration. "Come on Daph, I just got myself under control!" She smirked openly and sashayed out of the room, swinging her hips wildly.

"Let me know how it goes," she called over her shoulder. Cursing all things female, Harry closed his eyes to focus once more. It would be a few minutes before he got to the bank.

"Ah, Harry, sorry to call you back so soon, but just after Griphook left to meet with you Narcissa Black showed up asking to speak to her head of house. I believe she'll be requesting asylum."

"And your opinion of her sincerity?" Ragnok shrugged.

"I could not say one way or the other, but at this point her life is pretty much in your hands. It wouldn't be very smart to come just to aggravate you."

"True, but she has been a Malfoy for twenty years. I'm not sure just how dumbed down she's become." Ragnok sniggered and led him to a meeting room.

"She's in there, along with two goblin guards. Call if you need anything."

"Thanks Ragnok."

"My pleasure." As he walked away Harry entered the meeting room, his eyes falling on the feminine form sitting at the table. Crystal blue eyes swung up to meet his and Narcissa Black stood, curtsying deeply, her face stoic and unreadable.

"Lord Black, thank you for meeting with me." Harry nodded, his face just as blank, and took a seat across from her at the table.

"I'd expected to hear from you soon, although I am a bit surprised by the speed of things." She heard the unasked question and answered.

"I was home alone when the Gringotts owl delivered the news. I felt it was safest to leave before word got out and I became more a liability than anything else." Harry raised an eyebrow.

"A liability? Surely things weren't that precarious at home?" She shrugged uncomfortably in response and looked away.

"You must understand, our marriage was purely political. Lucius gained access to the Black fortune and the reputation that came with it, and I gained access to a high style of living. At no point was there any belief that it was a marriage out of love, but we were each content with the benefits gained. I provided an heir, as stipulated in the marriage contract, and played the role of devoted wife in public, and in turn he provided for my needs and pretty much left me alone. It wasn't until later when things got bad.

His life as a death eater came with certain unsavory aspects, of which I had no interest in participating in. But as time progressed, the Dark Lord started demanding more from his followers, including their wives." At Harry's grimace she actually laughed, though it was more bitter than humorous.

"Not in the way you're thinking. The demand wasn't sexual in nature, although other followers were keen to interpret it that way. No, the demand was for more active followers. At that point in time he was at his peak and it was well believed that he would soon win the war. To do so he needed greater numbers, and so those on the out skirts of things were dragged in."

"He was going to mark me the day after the events at Godric's Hollow. I suppose it's horrible of me, but I couldn't help but be relieved by what happened. It meant I was still free and the threat that had been hanging over our heads was gone." Harry nodded his understanding and she continued.

"Things settled into a calm after that. Lucius was set to rake in his fortune and bide his time until his master returned. I was free to live the life of a pampered pureblood, and things were good. Then Draco went off to school and the rumors began that the Dark Lord would soon return. I'm ashamed to say that I wasn't as good an actor as I thought. Lucius saw right through my act and knew I didn't support his return. He was…displeased.

You see, I never bought into the pureblood supremacy movement. Sure, I believed I was better than everyone else, but that included other purebloods, too. But Lucius, he was a fanatic fan. And he was ashamed that he hadn't done anything to help his master return, and scared that he would pay the price. So he started working on a bargaining chip for his master. Me.

My hesitation to join in certain activities had been noted before, and Lucius was convinced that converting me to his cause would bring him his master's favor. Things became much more…strained…over the next few years. Then the Dark Lord returned and punished him for not finding him sooner.

The death eater activities started up again, and this time my son was one of the ones trying to convince me to join them. It was…unpleasant. Things were getting bad when Lucius ended up in Azkaban after his failure at the Department of Mysteries. Instead of receding into the shadows like I'd hoped, the Dark Lord decided it fell to me to take his place. The Malfoy and Black fortune became his main funds, my home became his, and he scheduled both my son and I to receive the mark. Tonight. Even when Lucius bought his way out of Azkaban, the Dark Lord didn't rescind his request." Her eyes finally met his. " _That_ it why I came so quickly. You saved me once. I was hoping you could do it again."

Silence filled the office as Harry absorbed Narcissa's tale. He'd gone into the meeting planning on not trusting a word she said, but his gut told him to believe her this time. His "saving-people thing" was kicking in.

"Show me your arm," he said at last. Narcissa gladly rolled up her sleeves, revealing unmarked skin.

"What exactly are you asking me for? If Draco isn't repentant then I can't do much for him. And if you're in as much danger as you say then you can't exactly switch sides, publicly, at least." She nodded.

"To be honest I wasn't even sure if you would listen to me. I've heard the stories of what Lucius and Draco have done. Frankly I'm surprised you even came. As to your question, I was hoping you could find me a place to lay low until this all ends. I'll be honest with you. I went into things with my eyes open and I'm leaving the same way. Draco, well, he was lost to me a long time ago." He nodded absently and thought for a moment.

His mind was telling him that she spoke the truth and his family magic was calling for him to protect her, as was his duty as head of house. But where to put her? She certainly couldn't go home, and if what she said was true there wouldn't be much left to go home to anyway. Briefly he became amused by a daydream of the goblins evicting Voldemort before he came back to reality. Griphook had been investing in real estate. Perhaps she should flee the country? Or stay with her sister? Or-Suddenly he sat up. He had a perfect idea. Turning to Narcissa, he grinned.

"How would you like to help return the Black name to its former glory?"

She looked at him suspiciously. "How so?"

"I happen to own a house that's in need of some work and someone with a fine eye for detail and excellent taste would be perfect for the job. Tell me, have you been missing your Aunt?" Leaning over the table, he discussed his plan with her, a grin slowly spreading across each of their faces.

He left Narcissa in Dobby's very capable hands and strolled down diagon alley to the Daily Prophet's office. Putting on his best 'powerful lord' look he burst into the office and strode purposefully toward the manager's office, ignoring the flying memos and curious looks he was receiving. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a security guard head towards him, then recognize who he was and scamper away. Internally grinning he knocked on the door and, without waiting for an answer, walked into the office.

The man behind the desk was small and portly, with a fat cigar hanging out of his mouth, the ashes falling onto his extruding belly. He seemed oblivious to this, instead absently running his hand through the few wisps of hair he had left, which were styled in a homely comb-over. The nameplate on the desk read Manager Alton Custunns.

Upon the intrusion to his office Alton looked up and scowled, an insult on the tip of his tongue for being disturbed at such an important time. Upon actually realizing who his guest way, he shut his mouth and gave a slimy grin; all his reporter instincts were screaming this would make a good story. Well, he wasn't exactly wrong…

"Lord Potter," he exclaimed in an oily voice, "Please, come in". Harry merely raised an eyebrow, as if recognizing the stupidity of that statement (he was already in) and leaned against the door. This seemed to make Alton nervous, so he decided to add to the tension by not speaking first. "Uh…won't you please have a seat?" When Harry didn't move Alton began to sweat. He made his money printing things, not facing down young lords with more power than the government. "What can the Daily Prophet do for you today?" Harry just stared, letting Alton sweat it out. Finally he decided to put the man out of his misery.

"I'm sure you've heard of my recent rise to power, as I believe the Prophet called it."

"Yes, well, our readers deserve to know the truth."

"Oh, I agree."

"You do?"

"Of course! The purpose of the press is to keep the public informed of the goings on in their society. I have no intent of interfering with that." Alton gave a sigh of relief. He was well aware that Lord Potter now owned 45% of the paper and could do them serious damage. "It seems, however, that you do."

"I beg your pardon?" The look of confusion on the slimy manager's face was comical and Harry fought not to laugh. His shields held strong, though, and his stoic look remained intact.

"The Prophet has seemed to confuse reporting the truth with reporting what the ministry wants you to."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Alton replied sharply. This was dangerous territory; the ministry had proved a close ally in the past few years but more through threats and blackmail than anything else.

"I believe that you do. I also believe that you're aware of both my ownership in this company and the political power I hold, not to mention my powerful reputation." The underlying threat was not lost on Alton.

"What do you want?"

"Simply put, I want you to do your job. Stop reporting whatever lies and filth the ministry spews and actually check your facts before you print. At this point your articles are mostly embellishments on little bits of truth. I want it to be the other way around. Starting from today onwards all your articles will be based on truth and contain as little of the writer's opinion as possible. You will be factual and will thoroughly investigate all reports, including both those on myself and those on the ministry. You will, however, still respect an individual's right to privacy. No more beetles crawling around, if you catch my drift. As long as you do this, we'll be fine."

"And if we don't?" Hardened green eyes stared at him piercingly.

"Managers are easily replaced, and I'll have majority ownership soon. Keep that in mind. I'm not asking you to support me unsubstantially. I'm not fudge. What I am asking you to do is actually think before you write. I know you're writers are probably unpracticed in this, but feel free to remind them that writers, too, are easily replaced."

Alton nodded frantically, then had a thought. "So, to be clear, you want us to question things and provide factual reports." Harry nodded. "Then may I ask you some questions?" Harry had expected this and nodded again, moving to sit down. Alton looked like Christmas had come early.

"As you're aware, Minister Bones has recently passed a law condemning all of those found to have the dark mark to be immediately interrogated under veritassium. However, it is well known that in the last war, several upstanding members of society claimed to have been forced to take the mark under the imperious. Despite reassurances the aurors would cease questioning if this were found to be true, that relies on the aurors to actually do what they're told. Even if they do, it's still a large invasion of privacy. What can you tell us about this?"

"You actually make a decent point, and one we were concerned about as well. Acting on these concerns, Minister Bones made it priority to ask for specifics about taking the mark when interrogating all those caught at the ministry."

"And what did she find?"

"Investigation under veritassium of all of those caught revealed that not one had taken the dark mark unwillingly. In fact, they all revealed that the mark actually _has_ to be taken willingly. You see, the actual process involves a dark ritual. Minister Bones didn't share the details with me, as it even shocked her, a hardened auror of many years, but she did mention that it includes at least one rape and one murder."

Alton's eyes bugged out. "Are you saying that those that claimed imperious lied? And that everyone with the dark mark is a rapist and murderer?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

"What about females with the mark?"

"They are fewer in number but still exist. And yes, they have to undergo the same ritual as the others, including the rape." Alton's eyes grew even wider at that and the dicta-quill gave a spastic little jump.

"Given this information, then, what is the ministry planning on doing with those captured?"

"I'm unaware of what Minister Bones has planned, but I can tell you my opinion on this." Alton nodded eagerly and Harry sat back thoughtfully. "Azkaban obviously isn't working. Death Eaters are broken out as quickly as they're thrown in. Besides, the dementors have been known to change sides in war. We know that simply having the dark mark makes you a rapist and murderer. We also know that many of these people go on to kill many innocent people. Taking this all into consideration, I believe they should all be tossed through the veil."

Alton gasped. "But wouldn't that make us just as bad as them? Surely these people can be rehabilitated."

"Those people willingly seek out a master who tortures people for fun and take part in a dark ritual that requires them to rape someone and murder someone. Many enjoy it and the other activities Death Eaters are known to participate in. Simply put, they like what they do, and that's why they do it. I'm left asking the question, do we want people like that in our society? Personally, I don't.

As to you other question, that wouldn't make us like them at all. They kill for fun. We'd be killing to protect all those innocent people out there that can't sleep at night because they're scared Death Eaters will burst in and torture their children. I don't know about you, but my conscience will remain clear."

Alton nodded and ended the interview, thanking him for his time. Harry nodded, reminded him to pass on his earlier message to the workers, and then headed back to the apparition point. All in all it had been a productive day, and soon the rest of their plans would all come together. He couldn't wait for the next Wizengamot meeting.


	17. Break!

Albus Dumbledore took one look to his left and got a bad feeling. The 12 were once again sitting together, Harry Potter among them. He held back a glare and examined Harry more closely. He had to admit, Harry looked good. There were no traces of the meek young boy he used to be. No, in his place was a young man, a young man with a grudge. Not good, definitely not good.

Albus knew what he'd done was wrong in most people's eyes, but really, what he'd done was justified. He'd heard the prophesy and immediately knew that one day, Harry would have to die. It was why he'd let Pettigrew be the secret keeper for the Potters and why he'd sent Harry off to the Dursley's, ignoring the Potter will. He needed to boy to view him as his savior, to be malleable, but still have that sense of justice that would, one day, lead him to sacrifice himself for the greater good.

And yes, he'd taken some money, but really, it wasn't as if the boy would need it. He had enough to get through school and then, well, someone ought to get it after he died. Really, he was doing a good thing. The Weasley's were a poor family with big hearts. Both they and Harry would benefit from things.

He'd planned on taking the boy under his wing this year and giving him lessons on Tom, enough to keep his interest but not enough to really help him. He also had told Ginny Weasley to get closer to the boy, perhaps aided by a love potion if necessary. Everything had been working perfectly, and he was sure this year would be no different.

Then Harry had shown up at the last Wizengamot meeting, claiming not just the Potter Lordship but five others as well. On top of that he'd obviously undergone massive changes. He looked stronger, healthier, and cooler. There was no trace of the emotional weakling he'd sculpted Harry to be. Dumbledore had been floored and hadn't been able to intervene without arising suspicion. He'd attempted to speak to the boy afterwards and get him back under control, but it seemed the boy didn't trust him anymore. This could be bad, very bad. If he wasn't careful his plans would fall to tatters, which was why he'd come to today's meeting fully prepared.

He'd enlisted the help of an old friend who worked as a mind healer for St. Mungo's. He was going to cast a few borderline dark spells at the boy and then claim he was being controlled by the dark side. Harry would be whisked away to St. Mungo's where he would be administered potions to help with his cooperation, and Dumbledore would once again be viewed as the wizarding world's savior. His plans, however, would not see to completion.

"Lords, Ladies, honored guests," he began, "I call this seven hundred and fifty-fourth meeting of the British Wizengamot to order. Be advised that duels, formal and unformal, are not permitted in these chambers at any time and that only those wearing a signet ring or holding one by proxy are permitted to vote. Before we begin our business today is there anything that needs to be discussed?"

Damn it, the boy was standing again. It was too soon to act on his plans. He would just have to hope the boy would do something stupid enough to warrant his voicing his concerns.

"I do." Harry stood and took the floor, his black silk robe with silver lining swishing behind him. "I object to the status of Chief Warlock being given to Albus Dumbledore. According to Hogwarts by-laws the headmaster may only hold one job, that of headmaster, at one time. Seeing as how this detracts from his attention toward the school, as Lord Hogwarts I must object to his presence here."

Harry had to work hard to keep the smirk off his face as Dumbledore's face went from shocked to angry to defeated. He obviously knew he couldn't work his way out of this one and would have to choose between the two positions.

Dumbledore was pissed. Not only did this undermine today's plans, but it took away some of his power. He needed it- the Wizarding world wouldn't survive without him! Obviously the boy had planned this, assuming he'd choose to keep his role in the government over his role in the school. Well, he'd show him.

"Forgive this old mind for forgetting that fact. I will, of course, happily correct this mistake. Sad as I am to leave you, I feel Hogwarts needs me more. Thus, I resign from the position of Supreme Mugwump, effective immediately. So mote it be." Magic flashed around him and he stood, taking a seat in the audience. Shooting a glance at Harry, he was surprised to see that the boy looked almost pleased by his decision.

Well, that wouldn't last for long. He may have won today, but at Hogwarts Albus Dumbledore was in control. He was sure to gain control of the boy then. Yes, perhaps if…

Harry glanced at Dumbledore who was already lost in his scheming, no doubt planning to interfere with his life at Hogwarts. Harry inwardly smirked. The old fool was in for a hell of an afternoon.

Turning back to the meeting, he found that Amos Diggory had been elected Chief Mugwump. Excellent. Diggory was no fool and after his son's death he'd become much less tolerant of Dumbledore, yet remained within the "light" faction. He would be excellent at the position.

Turning his attention to the main body, Harry noted with amusement that the dark faction was significantly smaller in number than the last meeting. Apparently people like Malfoy were still hiding from the Ministry, though with no available funds he wasn't sure how much longer they'd last. His faults had been significantly fuller these past few weeks as the Goblins emptied the Malfoy vaults into them. He honestly couldn't wait to see Draco tomorrow at school.

A nudge from Amelia brought him back to reality and he stood once more, addressing the Wizengamot. Now, with so few dark wizards here, was the time to strike.

"As you all know there is a serious debate in today's society about whether or not muggleborn witches and wizards are inferior to those of wizard ancestry. Curious myself, I decided to look into this matter. What I found was quite surprising. In the last five years, the scores of muggleborns on OWLs have been 40% higher than the scores of purebloods. On NEWTs, they scored 50% higher. Half-bloods or those raised in the muggle world consistently scored 20% higher on both OWLs and NEWTs.

Furthermore, an analysis of the wands of muggleborns verse purebloods has revealed that overall, muggleborns require wands that are suited to a much higher power level than purebloods. 60% higher, actually.

Not, taking this data into consideration, I delved a little further into my research. My results were surprising. Did you know that muggleborn shop holders are required to pay triple the taxes that purebloods and even half-bloods do? Or that 80% of ministry positions are filled by purebloods, 15% by halfbloods, and only 5% by muggleborns? No? I certainly didn't.

I didn't know that despite muggleborns being smarter and more powerful, they were forced to pay higher taxes and struggled to find jobs in the Wizarding world. I didn't know things were this bad. I didn't know that we were all bigots." He ignored the offended muttering from both the body and audience and pressed on.

"But that can change, that _must_ change. Which is why I propose that a law be made that makes discrimination in the workplace and by the ministry in regards to blood status illegal and punishable by up to one month in Azkaban." Shocked gasps were heard all across the room at this. "I once overheard someone say the all mudbloods should be sent to Azkaban where they belong. Hopefully a month there will give them a taste of their own medicine and make them see the error of their ways."

His voice turned hard and he looked to the audience. "I want to make it clear that whether this law passes or not, I _will_ take offense at the obviously bigotry present and I _will_ do something about it if I see it. Treating others as inferior because they were borne to one person and not another is the lowest of the low and frankly disgusts me. Honestly, I'm disappointed in the Wizarding world right now. Very disappointed." He turned back to the Wizengamot. "I believe that all wizards are racist bigots. Prove me wrong. Make me proud." Turning swiftly he sat down.

He wasn't sure who started it, but someone in the crowd began clapping, then another and another, and soon the whole audience was on their feet, cheering for him. He hid his surprise behind his masks. He hadn't honestly expected a positive reaction like that. Nor did he expect the law to be ironed out and passed that very day, but it was, and by the time he left the meeting discrimination based on blood status was illegal.

He celebrated his success with his fellow allies over lunch, laughing and smiling the whole time. Soon, though, it was time for phase 2 of that day's plans.

"Alright everybody, you all know the plan. Gred, Forge, you'll tackle the house common rooms with your listening devices and emergency portkeys. Neville, Susan, you're in charge of external defenses. I want the whole grounds mapped and any weak areas in the wards reported. Ragnok, Griphook, once I let you into the chamber you'll be in charge of harvesting the basilisk and extracting it from the premises. Daphne, Cyrus, you're on horcrux retrieval. The goblins are sure one is in the school, and it's up to you to find it. Eve, Tori, you're in charge of house elves. See what they can do to help us and when. Amelia, you're our interference. Block the floos, distract any visitors, I don't care, just keep people away for the afternoon. I'll take on the teachers. Got it?" There was a chorus of positive answers. "Then let's head out!"

As one they all apparated to Hogshead and made their way to Hogwarts' gates. Sensing the school's wards, Harry reached out and cut the tie connecting Dumbledore to them. He wouldn't know anything was wrong unless he specifically reached for the wards, and it would make bringing people in without his knowledge easier.

"Alright, we're in. Everyone needs to be out by five as that's the longest I can hold the wards without Dumbledore knowing. We'll meet back at Greengrass Manor then to make sure we have everyone. Good luck."

 **Slytherin Common Room, 2:30pm**

"Oi Fred, where'd you put the portkey?"

"You're sitting on it you wanker!"

"Oh, I thought this seat felt funny." Standing he took a rubber band out from under him and tied it to the leg of the nearest chair. Grabbing more, he carefully distributed them around the common room and living spaces. Harry had made these special so that only he could activate them and that they activated all at once. If all went to plan, house elves would pop in and direct the students to grab hold. Then Harry would activated them using a spell and poof-no more students! It was a surefire way of clearing the school quickly, but relied on the house elves agreement.

"Oi, George, I'm all set. There's one in every room and five in the common room. You finished?"

"Almost, give me a sec." He finished his work under the sofa and stood. "The Dark Lord will destroy the mudbloods." Instantly a small chime went off in his pocket. Pulling out a small journal he opened it and pressed his wand to the cover. Instantly it opened to reveal his exact words in red ink. "Excellent."

The spell they created relied on recognizing key words, including but not limited to dark lord, Voldemort, mudblood, dark mark, attack, and then transmitting them to a journal where the words would be reported and monitored. This way they could spy on the students without invading too much of their privacy. Hopefully they would only pick up on important information.

"Couldn't have done better myself, bro."

"Indeed. Shall we move on to the home of the badgers?"

"We shall."

 **Hogwarts Kitchens, 2:45pm**

"So you'll do it?" Tori was practically bouncing on her toes in excitement. She and her mother had explained the evacuation plan to the elves and were waiting for a response.

Kixy, Hogwarts head elf, was staring at her with interest.

"No hurting students? No going against school?" Tori shook her head vigorously.

"No, only helping the school by getting students out of danger. They'll all be portkeyed into Gringotts and then when things are safe they can floo home from there." Kixy nodded shortly.

"Elves will help," she said simply.

"Awesome! Thank you! Harry, er, I mean Lord Hogwarts will send you a message when the time comes. Then you need to send elves to each common room and use the rubber band portkeys all around to get all the students out. Okay?"

Kixy nodded. "Elves serve Hogwarts. Elves will protect students, keep them safe. Elves will be ready for signal."

"Thanks!" In excitement Tori threw herself at the elf and pulled her into a hug. "You're the best!" As she skipped out of the kitchen the poor house elf stood stunned, eyes wide, staring at the doorway, wondering what had just happened. Finally she shook herself out of it and went back to work, though the kind human girl who had given her her first hug was never far from her mind.

 **Hogwarts Grounds, 3:30pm**

Neville stood, leaning casually against a tree, and a ring-tailed lemur rustled through the leaves above him.

"Alright, we've done the east and north sides. Now for the west. Do you see any concerns around the lake at all?" A single chirp was given in response. "Okay, no problems in the lake. Hey, maybe we could get the squid involved. Have it snatch up anyone who gets too close." The lemur gave three chirps. "Yah, you're right, not sure how we'd talk to it. But still, I'll put it on the list."

He pulled a journal out of his pocket and touched his wand to it. It instantly opened and he shifted through until he found his last page, absently noting that the twins had been successful. On his to do list he added _talk to squid?_ in black ink. Then on the next page he penned a note that the western wards were clear but the forest would need to be watched.

A lemur jumping onto his head pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Alright, one more side to go. Want a ride?" The lemur bounced in excitement and Neville grinned.

If one walked by at that particular moment they would see a strange sight: a ring tailed lemur riding on the head of a husky that was running across Hogwarts ground baying playfully.

 **Chamber of Secrets, 4:15pm**

Ironcore, brother of Ironfist, was knee deep in basilisk guts when his boss called him over.

"Ironcore, report!"

"The Basilisk carcass is only slightly decomposed. Almost everything is recoverable. The skin has been removed from the main areas and the organs are ready to be harvested. Boneshard is extracting venom as requested. Skulldancer is harvesting the meat. Several teams have begun packaging the pieces. At this rate we should be finished in an hour and a half and, rough estimate, I'd say the thing would be worth half a million galleons." As he spoke a young woman and grown man walked up and stood by him, waiting to speak to Ragnok.

"Excellent soldier, return to your duties." Ironcore gave a brisk goblin bow and jumped back into the basilisk carcass once more. Turning to Daphne and her father, Ragnok held back a grin. It looked like the two had been crawling through a dragon pit. Half her shirt was scorched off and he had soot across his brow. Daphne saw his look and scowled.

"Don't you dare laugh. We crawled through the nastiest parts of Hogwarts before we even thought of checking the room of requirement."

"And did you find anything?" She held out a silver diadem for him to examine.

"The Diadem of Ravenclaw. That bastard _would_ make it into a horcrux."

"Indeed he did. I can feel the dark magic from here." Shrinking it down he put it in a magically protected bag and then into his front pocket. "As soon as I return to the bank I shall see to its destruction." Daphne nodded and wished him luck, then walked away with her father. It wasn't until Cyrus turned around that Ragnok actually laughed; the man had a hole in his robes that showed off his underwear, which was white with red hearts. Chuckling at the foolishness of wizards, Ragnok returned to his work.

 **Hogwarts Teachers Room, 3:45**

The colors of the teacher's room wretchedly clashed. The theme of class unity was intended to get teachers to see past house boundaries but instead challenged their ability to see at all. The walls were a jumble of blue and black painted in odd swatches, some vertical, some horizontal, and some diagonal. The molding and accents were alternately bronze, silver, and gold, and the furniture mixtures of red, yellow, and black. This was all displayed on a carpet that incorporated every single house color into a weird pattern reminiscent of a kaleidoscope. It looked very much like a four year old with a crayon had designed the room.

In an effort to overcome the visual vomit-inducing pattern, the furniture was arranged well, randomly colored chairs and sofas all circled the room facing a large fireplace. The effort, though, wasn't enough to overcome the effect of such…creative…designs and the whole room felt clustered and hectic. The teachers had all begged Albus to change it dozens of times, but he, being the flamboyant wizard that he was, claimed that he liked the color scheme and that they were learn to like it with time.

Instead of some teachers liking it, however, it united them in the fact that they all hated it. In fact, there was a rush to find seating on the least offensive furniture before each meeting. Some had even been known to arrive several hours early to lay claim to a certain chair or couch. Severus Snape was one of these people. There was only one black chair in the whole room and he had claimed it quite viciously. Albus had once had to break up a fight between him and McGonagall over it that had left the elderly wizard with hooves instead of feet and Slytherin-green hair.

Since the students were due to arrive the next day Albus was holding, as he always did, a meeting of the teacher's to address any last minute concerns they might have for the upcoming school year. He himself had several to discuss, most concerning a certain green-eyed boy.

He arrived as the clock struck four and took the only seat left, a garishly yellow bean bag chair with gold and bronze stripes that made it look like a sexually confused sun. It clashed beautifully with his purple and green spotted robes. Settling back with a sigh he checked to make sure everyone was present and opened his mouth to begin.

"Oh good, you're all here." Heads turned not to the visually traumatizing image of the headmaster but to the doorway where a tall, muscular figure stood decked in a plain black robe. On his chest were six house crests, including three that were especially important to Hogwarts. As the figure stepped out of the shadows and into the light, gasps were heard all around as emerald eyes met each and every pair in the room, settling at last on Dumbledore.

Dumbledore, inwardly panicking, instinctively reached out for Hogwarts wards. "Ah-ah headmaster," Harry said, wagging his finger in mock disappointment, "We can't have that now can we?" Dumbledore's panic was now reflected in his face.

"What have you done?!" Harry looked down, brushing invisible lint off his robes.

"Oh, nothing much, just blocked your access to the castle's wards." Gasps were heard all around. Albus paled.

"Do you realize what you've done? The whole school could be in danger! I demand you return them at once!"

"Not until we've had our little chat. After that, well, we'll see." For the first time Harry seemed to notice the color scheme. "How repulsive." A flick of his wand later and the carpet was changed to a dark wood floor, the walls to a neutral beige with one house crest painted on each wall, and the furniture alternately white, brown, and black. Examining his work, Harry nodded decisively. "Much better."

Then, acting as if he were at home, he conjured an arm chair in front of the fire and propped his feet up onto a small coffee table.

"Mr. Potter!" Damn, he owed Daphne three galleons. He'd bet that Snape would be the first to break, not McGonagall. He raised his eyebrows at her, amused.

"Yes?"

"What do you think you're doing?!"

A look of surprise crossed his face. "Me? Why, I was redecorating. If you'd like I can change it back." All of the teachers shook their heads desperately, even Snape.

"Uh, no, that won't be necessary. I meant what are you doing here? And how dare you be so disrespectful to the headmaster?!"

"Oh, sorry, I misunderstood. It happens sometimes, you know. Luna says that it's the nargles clouding your judgement, but personally, I think it's just part of my brain chemistry. Of course, there's no way to know for sure, really. Unless you've any ideas," he asked hopefully?

"Mr. Potter! Answer my questions!"

"Oh, I didn't do that already?"

"No!"

"Are you sure? I thought I did." It took all of his control to keep an innocent face when he really wanted to burst out laughing. In fact, he could swore he heard giggles coming from the corner of the room. Unfortunately, McGonagall looked as if she was about to explode and the vein above Snape's eye was pulsing, which was never a good sign.

"I'm sure! Now answer the questions!" She was practically hissing at him and he could totally see the similarities between her and a cat.

"Alright, alright. No need to yell, I'm right here after all."

"Harry, my boy," Albus began when he was rudely silenced. There was a fire in Harry's eyes that hadn't been there moments before.

"That, Headmaster," he said coldly, "is one of the issues I need to address." Strengthening his shields he took a deep breath and regained his pleasant demeanor.

"Now, where were we? Oh yes, why I'm here. Well, there are several reasons really. Please be patient with me, as this may take a while." Sitting back in his chairs he clasped his fingers together. "Where to begin, that's the question. Hmmm." Harry was having a great time stalling for time. The look on his professors faces: priceless.

"Well, let's start with me and then move on to you. As you may be aware of, I am no longer simply Harry Potter, but Lord Harry James Potter-Black-Peverell-Slytherin-Gryffindor-Ravenclaw." He ignored the gasps by those who were unaware of this fact. "As such, I am also Lord Hogwarts." The pieces fell into place for Dumbledore and he began to sweat. He'd been played, played by a mere boy.

"I can see that our illustrious headmaster has recognized the effects of this post, but let me explain to those of you who don't know. Lord Hogwarts has several special privileges. Firstly, I have total control over the school building and the wards. I assure you I will be updating those quite soon." He noticed Albus opening his mouth but ignored him; his silencing spell would hold. "Secondly, I have complete authority over Hogwarts by-laws, allowing me to have final say on disciplinary actions and school rules. Thirdly, I control who goes here, and who teaches here." Flickers of fear and disbelief shown in the teachers eyes. He paused for a few moments to let it all sink in.

"Now that I've suitably threatened you, let me put some of your fears to rest. I am a student here and will be treated just like any other student. You may assign me homework and detentions and take points. I expect no special treatment from you, and will actually be most upset if I do receive any. In the case that I will not be acting as a student I will be sure to inform you. However, I'm hoping that won't be necessary.

Next, I must give suitable warning before enacting changes in curriculum, including staff changes. This being said, as long as you do nothing to warrant your immediate dismissal, which is unlikely, then you all have jobs for this year. That being said, there will be some changes."

He turned to professor Trelawney. "I expect a complete syllabus in my hands tomorrow morning detailing lesson plans and any materials assigned for as long as you have them." The teachers looked unhappy with this. "I understand its short notice, but it is the day before classes. If your syllabus isn't finalized then we have more to worry about than just making copies, hm?" The threat was clear. Under Hogwarts charter all teachers were to provide the headmaster with a syllabus at least a week before classes began. This would see if both parties were actually doing their jobs. Several teachers were looking distinctly uneasy. He noted which ones and then continued.

"I'm also introducing a new method of assessment. At random intervals through the year members of the board of governors and OWL and NEWT examiners will arrive at the castle and sit in on your classes. I expect your full cooperation in this matter." Some teachers looked rather rebellious and Harry was quite frankly surprised that they hadn't exploded on him yet. "I'm also introducing an anonymous survey to be taken by students addressing their opinions on their teachers. It will cover things like what they do best, worst, possible ways to improve, and any complaints."

He held up his hands to stop the complaints coming forth. "I understand that students can be nasty and petty. Each complaint will be investigated thoroughly and only a 50% approval rate will be required. This is mostly for your benefit. It provides feedback on your teaching methods from the very people you are teaching. If I were you, I would take full advantage of that information."

"Finally, I'd like to inform you that I'll be instituting a zero tolerance policy here at Hogwarts. We will no longer tolerate any bullying of any kind, be in intra- or inter-house. The first incident will earn the student a warning and a month's detention. The second, a week suspension and a call home. The third, expulsion. Furthermore, I'm expanding this policy to the staff. All point deductions and awards will be reviewed, as will each detention, by a committee I'm hoping some of you will participate in. Any inappropriate actions will be addressed by myself." He gave a significant look at Snape, who was visibly seething.

"What do you define as bullying," Pomona Sprout asked?

"Well, obviously there is no strict definition. I'm trusting you to use your judgement in each case. Simply put, however, bullying is the unwanted, aggressive action towards one student, or professor, by another. This includes name calling, especially use of the term mudblood, as well as physical acts of violence, like sticking someone to a ceiling. All blood-purity related comments will be punished as strongly as possible."

"Surely that's a little harsh. Sometimes things like that happen in a harmless prank."

"If it were harmless, it wouldn't put a student in the hospital wing because half the skin on their back was still stuck to the ceiling or the blood rushed to their head, making them feint. Don't get me wrong, calling your friend a prat or something else a Barbie isn't going to get you expelled, but calling someone a mudblood will. And I'll know if it happens. Again this is mostly based on your judgement. If there are any questions or outside opinions needed, you may come to me. I'll be reviewing this for a while anyway."

"You said we should come to you, not the headmaster?"

"Correct." He turned to Albus but didn't let up the silencing charm. "Albus Dumbledore has lost my faith in his duties as Headmaster and as a decent human being. As of now he is on notice. One finger out of place, one toe in the wrong door, and you're out of here. Period. Understood?"

Dumbledore was shaking his head and gesturing to his mouth, but Harry wasn't having it.

"This isn't up for negotiation Headmaster. From here on you will address me as Mr. Potter and only in regards to your duties as Headmaster. Control of the wards has been rescinded from you. You failed to inform others a giant snake was in the walls, an animagus in the common room, and a dark artifact in a teacher's office. You no longer have the right to play with the wards as you please.

You are to stay away from me personally at all times. I have neither forgiven nor forgotten what you've done, nor have I overlooked the sorry state of this school under your care. You will change things quickly or you won't last. That means no using people as puppets, no playing games with or in people's heads, and no bending the law to suit you. You, too, will undergo inspections, randomly and frequently. The floo in your office has been closed to all outside connections. All visitors must come through the gates and then the main entrance. No exceptions. Is there anything I've said that you don't understand?"

Sulking, Dumbledore merely shook his head.

"Excellent. I'd like to meet with each of you individually during the first week, even if only for a few minutes. I'll be sending you invitations in the mail. You can address any concerns with the new regime then. Thank you for your time."

A glance at his wrist watch told him it was 4:50. Crap.

Standing, he walked up to the nearest teacher, Professor McGonagall, and held out his hand. "Thank you for your cooperation." She pursed her lips in irritation but took his hand.

"You'd best plan for a long meeting with me," she said tightly. He nodded and told her he'd clear room in his schedule. She hadn't seemed to like that. Then he went to the next teacher, who was unfortunately professor Snape.

"Professor Snape, I understand my recent actions may put you in a bit of a dilemma." He was well aware that Snape was a double agent (according to Dumbledore) and that he had to act a certain way towards some students. "Unfortunately, this is a school, where our priority is to teach, no play politics. That being said, Hogwarts offers asylum to those who ask." Snape snorted, looked at his hand, and then walked away to talk with Dumbledore, who was still silenced. Harry was aware Snape would have a hard time of things in the next few months, but as he'd said, this was a school, and he wouldn't put up with bullying, no matter what.

After finishing up with handshakes and receiving subtle praises and/or threats, his watch (a Birthday gift from Daphne) beeped and he relaxed. It was five, he was free to go. Nodding to the room's attendants he swept out into the hallway and apparated straight from the hallway to Greengrass Manor. After checking that every face was accounted for, he grinned. Everything had gone according to plan.

* * *

A/N: It's the week before finals, so don't expect an update this Sunday (12/5/15) or next Sunday (12/13/15). I'll try to post one mid-week if I have time. I'll make it up to you guys by posting two chapters the week of the 14th. Sorry for the late notice, and goo luck to everyone taking exams!


	18. Back to Hogwarts Part 1

A/N: Finals are over! Whoo-hoo! Sorry about the wait but I had to make sure I passed my classes. Anyway, this chapter will be part one of two since there was too much information to include here today. I'll try to post the second half mid-week and then chapter 20 on Sunday. By then I'll be caught up on chapters and will resume my normal schedule.

Finally, I've gotten a lot of complaints that this story is very cliché. I am aware of that fact, and apologize for not warning you in advance. The thing is, I love a good cliché, so my story is going to be packed full of them! To placate those who like originality, however, I can guarantee you that the story will become more and more original as it moves on, as I have a very uncliche, unique ending planned. For now I'll try to tone down on the clichés. Thanks for reading!

* * *

Hermione Granger hugged her parents goodbye on Platform 9 ¾, trying to shake the feeling that it might be the last time she did so. Ever since the last order meeting when she had made a possibly life-altering decision she had constantly been on edge, second guessing all her decisions and imaging worst-case scenarios in her head. What if Harry didn't accept her decision? Or Dumbledore really was the bad guy Harry made him out to be? Or Harry really had turned dark as Dumbledore said?

Steeling herself, she took a deep breath and boarded the train, lugging her trunk behind her. She had arrived early, as was her usual habit when she wasn't tied down by the ever tardy Weasley clan. Speaking of the Weasley's, she had been keeping an extra sharp eye on the two youngest Weasley's and reading extra carefully through their correspondence. What she had found wasn't surprising, but wasn't suspicious.

Ron, of course, was being a stupid prat, only discussing quidditch and asking about Harry, but that wasn't exactly unusual. Ginny had been mailing her for girl advice on how to hook Harry, but again, that wasn't unusual considering Ginny had had a crush on him since she'd been eight. There was none of the betrayal that Harry had mentioned, but the paperwork he'd given her had proven true, and the Weasley's had indeed been stealing from his vaults, as had Dumbledore. Hermione still was confused on that count. Harry said he stole from him because he was an "evil manipulative bastard", but, while Hermione agreed that taking the money had been wrong, surely Dumbledore had only taken it for important things like Order work.

As for the wards, well, there she was left hanging. Blood wards were extremely illegal, and more harmful than helpful. Perhaps Dumbledore had had reasons for putting them up, but she couldn't think of any. All in all Dumbledore's decision were questionable and Harry was her friend. While she wasn't convinced that Dumbledore was the man Harry made him out to be, Harry was her friend and she would stick by him no matter what. And if he was wrong about Dumbledore, well, she would do what was best for him. He would understand in the long run.

With her mind set she moved down the aisles, looking for her friend. When she found him at the back of the train, she was surprised by his companions. Neville she understood, but she hadn't realized he was close with Susan Bones, and she was rather appalled that he was keeping company with the Slytherin Ice Queen Daphne Greengrass. She and Hermione had a long, icy history, typically irritated by the silent academic competition between the two. While Hermione held the top position in the class, Daphne had come close to beating her several times. Third year it was only the extra classes via time-turner that kept Hermione ahead. If Daphne thought she could beat her at this, too, then she was mistaken.

"Harry!" Tossing her trunk aside she tackled him in a tight hug, glaring at Daphne over his shoulder. She was shocked to see amusement flash across Daphne's face, but it was gone in an instant, disappearing into her usual stoic face.

"Hermione. How was your summer?" Harry stepped back but made no move to allow her further into the compartment. His silent demand was clear; she needed to pick a side. Her smile faltered but didn't disappear.

"It was fine. How was yours?"

"It was excellent. Did you think about what I said at all?"

"I did."

"And?"

She sighed. "To be honest I'm not quite sure I believe you." The tension in the compartment increased exponentially, but she stuck with her guns. "Every argument you made has a counterargument that works. The blood wards: maybe the goblins were wrong or they have alternative uses Dumbledore knows about. The stolen funds: wrong, yes, but maybe he used them for a good cause, and even if it didn't, it doesn't make him evil. As for Ron, I haven't noticed anything out of character for him. I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm just saying that there's not enough evidence for me to be convinced you're right."

A quick glance up showed that Harry was uncharacteristically quiet, his face an emotionless mask. Worried for a moment, Hermione's eyes flickered over to Daphne, who had the same mask on, though her posture was tense and there was fire in her eyes.

"However," she continued, turning back to the problem at hand, "you're my friend and I don't ever want that to change. I can see you believe your arguments and I can see why. I don't necessarily agree with them, but that won't stop me from being your friend." She raised her chin stubbornly and looked into emerald green eyes. "If I have to choose, I choose you, but that won't stop me from forming my own opinions."

Harry's face stayed neutral. "And if I told you something in confidence, something potentially dangerous? Would you be able to keep it a secret? Especially from Dumbledore?"

Hermione nodded. "If it wouldn't put you or anyone in harm's way, then yes. I wouldn't like it, but I'd do it."

Silence filled the cabin as emerald green eyes met chocolate brown ones. For Hermione, it felt like Harry was staring into her soul. For Harry, he was reading her surface thoughts (her shields had strengthened immensely since his last visit, but Harry didn't need to get past them to read the surface). What he found didn't surprise him. Hermione was not convinced Dumbledore was bad but didn't want to risk her friendship so had compromised.

Finally he shrugged and stepped aside. He would keep her around and try to convince her of the truth, but he wouldn't risk losing everything by spilling his secrets to her just yet. Taking a seat beside Daphne once more he moved over to make room for Hermione.

"So," she said, trying to break the awkward silence she felt, "How did you all do on your OWLS?"

"Really well. Harry got nine, Daphne got eleven, and Susan and I both got eight," Neville responded. "How'd you do? All O's?"

Hermione blushed and nodded. "Yes, for eleven total." She shot Daphne a venomous glare but continued. "I've chosen to continue all the core classes and add Runes and Arithmancy for NEWTS. I can't believe in two years we'll finally be taking them. I've bought a prep guide for them and wrote out a study schedule that will have us on track for success." She pulled out a color coded chart and handed it to Harry. "Here's yours."

"Umm, thanks Hermione but I think it's a little early to start studying for exams that are two years away. I think I'll wait a while and then create my own study schedule, one that works best for me." He handed her back the chart.

"Harry, how can you be so blasé about something so important?! The NEWTs define your whole future in the wizarding world! You can't wait for the last minute like usual! You need to be prepared!" She shoved the chart back at him, but he wouldn't take it.

"No thank you, Hermione. I appreciate the sentiment but I can study on my own."

She scoffed. "Since when? I'm the reason you haven't failed out of Hogwarts and I usually have to fight to get you to study! You need me!"

"I don't think you're giving Harry enough credit," Neville suddenly said. "He's actually really smart."

"Well, yes, I didn't mean to imply-"

"What? That he would be nothing without you?" Daphne looked at her coolly. "Maybe he would have done better on his own had he been free of your constant nagging."

Hermione colored and clenched her hands into fists. "Yah, well, from what I saw he wasn't trying too hard."

"Maybe that's because he's been too busy each year trying to survive!"

"I was with him and I still managed to do well."

"You weren't with him for everything. You don't know the half of what he's been through!"

"And you do?"

"Yes."

Angrily Hermione turned towards Harry to set Daphne straight.

"Tell her that's not true." Harry glanced between Daphne and Hermione for a moment before sighing.

"I can't, because it is." Hermione's face took on a look of shock. "Look, Daphne's my girlfriend, and I've shared everything with her. Yes, even things I haven't told you. And I'm sorry if that offends you, but sometimes you can be a bit much. I didn't ask you to come mother me or boss me around. I asked you to come be my friend. I don't need you to think for me, I just need you to be with me. That might be hard for you, but I hope you'll at least try."

Speechless, Hermione just stared at him, mouth agape, as he turned away and took Daphne's hand, kissing it like it was the most precious thing on earth. His _girlfriend_? Daphne was his girlfriend? And he trusted her, who he'd known only over the summer, or Hermione would have known otherwise, more than he trusted his best friend of five years? What on earth had happened? Where had she gone wrong?

Narrowing her eyes at the Slytherin Ice Queen, Hermione had a thought. Was she the reason her friend had changed so much? The reason why he no longer trusted her and had turned away from his friends and mentors? Was Dumbledore right? Was the Slytherin controlling her friend? Well, if she was, she would regret it. Nobody messed with Harry, Hermione would make sure of it. And yes, he might be offended, but in the end he'd see. He'd see that Hermione was his true friend, the better person. Hermione was number 1.

After the argument Hermione left for a Prefects meeting and the compartment breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"Well, that went well," Susan drawled.

"The nerve of that bitch, claiming you'd be nothing without her," Daphne fumed. Harry placed a calming arm around her and pulled her close.

"I'm sure she didn't mean it that way, and to be fair I wasn't the best student these past few years, but I'm glad I said what I did. She needs to learn to interact with a human without dominating them. It's gotten rather annoying, especially since I can think for myself now."

"Yah. So, what's the plan with her?"

"For now, we'll keep her around and try to convince her of what's going on, but she can't be trusted with everything." The sorrow on his face displaced any triumph Daphne might feel.

"I'm sorry, I know she was your friend."

Harry shrugged. "It's alright. I've got you guys now."

The next hour was spent in companionable silence. Daphne and Harry were sharing a book on domestic magic, Neville one on magical fungi, and Susan took a nap, using Neville as a pillow.

This was the scene Hermione walked back in on, Ron and Ginny trailing behind her. She'd tried to shake them off but they insisted on following her back and she needed to change. She shot an apologetic look toward Harry, who simply nodded in understanding. He'd been expecting something like this.

"Hey mate," Ron said, plopping down next to Neville and ignoring the glares he was receiving from the majority of the compartment. Even Hermione was a little annoyed. Looking around for food, Ron couldn't help but notice the nice, expensive things his friend owned. Already turning red with jealousy he finally spotted Daphne exploded. "What the hell is _she_ doing here?!"

"Daphne's my friend. She's here at my invitation, unlike you, who just barged in."

"But mate, she's a bloody snake!"

"So she's cunning and sly. She's also funny, extremely intelligent, and, I repeat, my _friend_ , as are Susan and Neville. Watch what you say about them, Weasley, you wouldn't want to miss the feast for the Hospital wing, would you?"

Seeing the situation get out of control, Ginny stepped in. "I'm sure he didn't mean it like that, Harry," she said, smiling prettily and fluttering her lashes at him. "It's just that we're so worried about you. You've changed so much in such little time, you see." She tried to take a seat across from him but Neville moved over to block her, leaving her standing awkwardly in the middle of the compartment.

"Yeah, well, I'm fine. Actually, I'm better than ever and genuinely happy for the first time in my life, which any _real_ friend would care about."

"What's that s'posed to mean," Ron snapped, the effect partly ruined by a half-eaten cauldron cake being stuffed into his mouth.

"I think you know exactly what it's supposed to mean. Or did you think I would overlook you stealing from my accounts and planning to, what was it, "convince me to marry you, so it will all be legal" but you'd "get the money and the fame"?

Ginny was rapidly paling, just as Ron was turner brighter than a tomato.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Harry rolled his eyes.

"Really? Are we seriously playing _that_ game now? Drop the act, _Ginevra_ , I know you're not as stupid as you look. Which is really saying something." That brought some color to her face, but before she could respond Ron was butting into things, spewing crumbs all around.

"So what if we took some money, mate? It's not like you don't have enough! And we deserve it for all that we've done for you!"

Ignoring Hermione gasp of "Ronald Weasley!" Harry replied, "You mean, all that you were _paid_ to do. I hope you spent the money while you could, by the way. It'll probably be the only coins you get to see for a long, long time. Hopefully you won't be adding dragon dung to the list. I'm rather looking forward to seeing that."

"What do you mean," Hermione asked.

"Since they stole from a goblin friend they face goblin justice. If they don't return all the money they stole, plus interest, by this afternoon they'll be put to work in the Gringotts dragon mines until they pay it off."

Ron jumped up, getting in his face. "You take it back! We're already poor enough! If you do this we won't even have the money for food! We'll starve!"

"You should have thought of that before you stole from me."

Angrily Ron whipped out his wand, only to be met with four more. "I suggest," Harry began in a deadly soft voice, "that you leave while you still can. After that, I'll be happy to assist you, but you'll be leaving in pieces." Ginny, seeing the situation rapidly dissolving, grabbed her brother and dragged him away.

"This isn't over," she spat over her shoulder as she walked out.

Harry grinned at that. "Good. Wouldn't want my sources of entertainment to vanish too quickly, would I?"

"Harry, what the hell was all that?" Harry turned to Hermione, a serious look on his face.

"That, Hermione, was Dumbledore, or, more specifically, Dumbledore's minions. Think about that before you commit permanently to a side." At that he left, heading for destinations unknown.

When he returned, Hermione was gone, no doubt off doing prefect work. For once, Harry was glad he actually hadn't made prefect. That would only have gotten in the way.

The only other thing of significance to occur on the train ride, or rather, to _not_ occur, was that there was no annual visit from Malfoy for the first time in his Hogwarts education. Neville quipped that he was probably too poor to afford a visit, but Harry knew better. Before leaving for the great hall he vowed to keep an extra close eye on Malfoy that year.

That year's feast was just sad. Perhaps it was just Harry who thought so, but there was a certain tension in the air that was simply oppressive. People's voices were more quiet, eyes darted around nervously, as if expecting attacks at a moment's notice, and the new group of first years was the smallest yet, with only twenty students total. Not even the cheerful decorations and expertly made food could cover the fact that they were at war. It was sad. Here was a room full of children that were being forced to grow up too fast, to grow up in fear.

"You alright, mate?" Neville's question pulled Harry out of his reverie.

"Yah, it's just…," he sighed and gestured to all the students around him. "They're kids, Nev, just kids. We all are. And yet…"

"I know, mate, I know. But we're doing something to help them, and that's worth something."

Harry tried for a smile but it came off as more a grimace. "I suppose. It'd be nice if they were a little more grateful." He scowled at the students around him, who'd been glancing up at him all night, and felt little satisfaction as they turned away. It had been painfully obvious to the whole room that the golden trio had fallen apart. Ron was sitting as far from Harry as possible and Hermione had taken a seat across from Harry but hadn't spoken to him all dinner; she was too deep in thought.

"What are we gonna do about them?" Harry actually smiled at this, though his expression was grim.

"Let's give them something to talk about." Abruptly he stood and made his way to the head table, purposely ignoring the whispers his actions ignited. It seemed his peers were as subtle as always. Standing in front of Dumbledore he nodded casually to the wizard, a clear warning in his expression, then turned to face the students who were slowly falling silent. When he had their attention, he began, his voice hard as steel.

"I speak to you today not as Harry Potter, boy-who-lived, but as Lord Harry James Potter Black Peverell Gryffindor Slytherin Ravenclaw, or, more importantly, Lord Hogwarts. That's right, my direct relation to three of the founders has entitled me to claim control of Hogwarts itself." Instantly whispers filled the hall, some panicked, some angry, some confused. Ignoring them, he continued. "What does this mean for you? Absolutely nothing. I am attending Hogwarts as a student and therefore am subject to the same rules and regulations as all of you."

"That being said, these rules and regulations have undergone recent changes that do, indeed, affect each and every one of you. For the first time in history, Hogwarts is instituting a no-tolerance policy. For those of you wondering, a no-tolerance policy is one that punishes any infraction of a rule, regardless of accidental mistakes or ignorance. In this specific case only certain rules, ones regarding acts of violence or bullying other students, are the target of the policy. And the punishment I'm describing is expulsion." The noise level swelled instantly, and Harry had to raise his voice slightly.

"What that means is that any vicious attacks, outright bullying, or questionable actions of question will be treated exactly as they are: a direct attack on an underage witch or wizard." His face hardened even further. "That means we'll be calling the aurors and sending you to Azkaban, not detention." Gasps and frightened glances occurred all around him.

"I don't care if you're pureblood, half-blood, mudblood, veela, werewolf, rich, poor, tall, short, smart, dumb, Slytherin, or Gryffindor; you will remember that this is a school, not a political rally, and not a war-zone." Here his face softened.

"I consider Hogwarts my home. It always has been and always will be. But you must admit, it's in need of a bit of some serious TLC. I'm not doing this to be mean or petty. I won't instantly expel all Slytherins and promote all Gryffindors. I can't even award points. But what I can do is make this a safe place to learn, and that exactly what I plan on doing. So with that being said, if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to bring it to the attention of the staff or even myself. I'm only a student, but students have a lot more power than they think. "

"I'll leave you with one last warning: you have this weekend. This weekend you'll be getting warnings, point losses, maybe even detentions. Monday, when classes start, will be the same. During that period both myself and the staff will make it clear just what behavior is and is not acceptable. After that, there will be consequences, and severe ones at that." He looked hard at each and every student, taking heart in the supportive looks he received from his friends and even some other students, mostly younger years. Ron and Ginny, he noted with amusement, looked as if they smelt something extremely unpleasant. Cracking a smile at that, he addressed the students one last time. "Have a nice weekend."

Stepping down he casually walked out of the Great Hall and made his way toward the seventh floor, letting his Gryffindor ring guide him. Walking passed the picture of Barnabas the barmy teaching trolls to dance he continued down the hall, finally stopping in a small corridor just off the main one. Two golden statues of griffins, one flying, the other posed mid-leap, stood on each side of a rather simple picture of an armor-clad knight siding astride a large, white horse. Touching his ring to the frame, he grinned as the wall dissolved away, revealing a suite of rooms bedecked in red and gold.

Exploring lazily he discovered that Gryffindor lived a simple life. His suite held only four rooms: a bedroom, bathroom, den, and office. The bedroom was very simple; a large four poster bed with sheer gold curtains was pushed up against the far wall, a nightstand on each side. To the right of the door was a small closet and dresser, each already holding his belongings. A door to the left led to a bathroom with a decent sized tub and shower. Back in the den, which held some chairs and sofas around a fireplace, a door opposite the bedroom led to the office.

The office was small and rather crammed. Bookshelves lined every wall except one, where a desk covered in papers stood. In the middle of the room was a small square table once more covered in papers. Glancing around, Harry was actually surprised. Who knew Gryffindor was such a bookworm?

His curiosity getting the best of him, Harry began perusing the bookshelves, glancing over the titles of the numerous tomes. A few he recognized, like Moste Potent Potions, volume 1, and Hogwarts, a History, edition 1, which Hermione would probably kill to get her hands on. Most, however, he'd never heard of. Hell, he couldn't even read half of them.

Some were in other languages, like Latin, but what Harry found interesting was that the largest majority of the volumes, and the most-used ones, were on runes. Daphne had been teaching him the basics of runes ever since there first trip to the chamber, and he had come a long way, enough to gain him entry into the class. That's how he knew that these runes weren't the normal ones studied. They weren't Norse, Egyptian, Celtic, Greek, or anything else he'd ever seen. How curious. A glance through the books showed the words themselves were all runes, with a smattering of ye old English thrown in.

Setting down the book he wandered over to the table, glancing at the papers on top. From what he could deduce, Godric had been in the midst of some type of project when he'd died, specifically a project involving runes. A glance at the notes on the desk reinforced Harry's theory. Turning away from the papers he went to the bedroom and began to brush his teeth, wondering all the while what the wizened wizard had been up to. Something told him that it could be important.

The next day the papers lay forgotten as more pressing matters demanded Harry's attention.

The first incident occurred as he made his way down to breakfast. As he made his way down the stairs a voice shouted "I've found him!" Turning, Harry discovered the voice belonged to Seamus, who was rapidly making his way towards Harry with Dean in tow.

"There you are Harry! Where've you been? McGonagall was going spare trying to find you. Apparently not even the headmaster could detect your location. They sent out search parties a few hours after curfew. We were lucky enough to get the early shift." Harry merely raised an eyebrow at Seamus's comment.

"They sent students out on search parties?" Dean nodded and glared at him a bit. "How odd. I'll have to have a word with Professor McGonagall."

"Last I saw she was heading for Dumbledore's office," Seamus supplied helpfully.

"Excellent. Thank you for your concern. I'll make sure to speak with McGonagall immediately." With a friendly clap on the back Seamus and Dean were off and Harry was headed to the headmaster's office.

Approaching the gargoyle, Harry merely glanced at it before the stairway revealed itself to him. Smirking, he jumped onto the moving stairs and rode to the top.

"-serious Albus, I've looked everywhere! He's nowhere to be found!"

"-can't have looked everywhere, he must be here somewhere."

"-do something!" Inching closer, Harry stretched to hear more of the conversation.

"And what would you have me do," Dumbledore sighed. "The boy has taken access to the wards away from me. Without them I'm unable to find him. Have you asked the portraits?"

"Yes, and all they would say was that Lord Hogwarts was safe in his home and not to be disturbed! What is going on around here, Albus?! First he comes in saying he's in control, threatening us, and then he disappears? What are things coming to?!" Harry chose then to make his entrance.

"Good morning headmaster, professor. I believe you were looking for me?" As his voice both occupants of the room jumped and twirled around, wands out and ready. Harry merely raised an eyebrow.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!" McGonagall looked about ready to burst and she rushed towards him, hitting him with a quick set of diagnostic spells to check for injury.

"I'm fine, professor. Just hungry, really. And as for your question, I've been in my room, sleeping."

"Don't lie to me young man! You may be Lord Hogwarts but I am still your professor and deserve to be treated with respect! Gryffindor prefects came to me last night after your peers reported you weren't in bed. We've been looking for you all night!"

"So I've heard. Seamus and Dean found me on my way to breakfast this morning and filled me in. What did you honestly think had happened? People don't usually try to kill me until the end of the year, not the beginning."

"That is usually the case," she grudgingly replied, calming somewhat, "but when it comes to you, Mr. Potter, I've learned that the usual case no longer applies." Harry had to grin at that.

"Sorry about that, though I do plead that it wasn't entirely my fault. I simply wasn't informed that you were looking for me."

"And who would have been able to inform you when you weren't in bed?"

Harry shrugged. "Portraits, house elves, anyone linked to Hogwarts, really."

"We did ask both of those groups, but they said you were busy and not to be disturbed."

"They must have felt my need for sleep and acted accordingly. I'll speak to them and adjust their misconceptions immediately regarding making contact."

"Yes, well, that's all good and done, but you still haven't told us where you were."

"I was in my room, as I told you." Holding up a hand to hold off her upcoming rant, he continued. "I'll admit, however, that I forgot to tell you that my rooming situation has changed. As Lord Hogwarts I have access to my own suites and will be staying there for the immediate future."

"And where are these rooms?" Dumbledore was particularly greedy looking while asking that question.

"I'm afraid you don't need to know that information."

"Harry, my-," Harry glared and Dumbledore quickly changed his wording. "I mean, Mr. Potter, we must know where to find you in case of an emergency."

"No, you simply need to be able to contact me in such cases. I've already offered a remedy to that problem."

"Ha-Mr. Potter, I must insist. As headmaster the welfare of every student is my responsibility. Part of that is needing to know where they are."

"In my time here I have seen three-headed dogs, enchanted mirrors, giant snakes, two men thought to be dead, blood quills being used on students, and a large assortment of other atrocities. Given this, I find it hard to believe that you genuinely care about the welfare of students. However, I'll give you benefit of the doubt and assume you were actually worried for my safety. In that case you need only call for Dobby and he'll be able to get a message to me immediately. Now, if you've no further questions, I'd like to go to breakfast."

"Mr. Potter, while your points are genuine your attitude is uncalled for. You can hardly blame us for being worried about you. You could have been lying dead in a corridor for all we knew!"

"Why on earth would I be doing that?"

"There are dangers everywhere," Dumbledore said wisely. Harry's eyes hardened.

"Then why did you send students to look for me? If you believed there to be a danger in Hogwarts one of the stupidest things you could do would be send more students into that danger." He gave both of them a hard look. Dumbledore looked angered, but McGonagall looked abashed.

"You make a good point, Mr. Potter, and you have my word it won't happen again. As for your situation, I'll call for Dobby, was it, if I need you."

"Thank you Professor, and good day." Harry left the office just as McGonagall began to yell at Dumbledore for putting more students at risk. He walked to breakfast with an extra bounce in his step that day.


	19. Back to Hogwarts Part 2

After a quick breakfast Harry, Daphne, Susan, and Neville all met in his new rooms as they'd agreed upon. The plan for the weekend was twofold: explore Hogwarts, and update the wards. Since Harry knew where the ward book was they quickly headed out towards the library, entering her secret chamber after assuring the hallway was empty.

The room was just as he'd seen in his ring-vision. Bookshelves lined every inch of spare space in the small but cozy sitting room. As the others explored further he retrieved _Hogwarts: An Owner's Manual_ and began to leaf through it.

The book was surprisingly large and Harry soon realized he had his work cut out for him. Instead of a simple explanation of the wards it was a chronological list of explanations of the updates and/or changes each headmaster and/or controlling heir made to the wards and/or castle. Skipping to the end, Harry took one glance at the page and grimaced. By this point the wards were a patchwork of old and new spells that resembled more of an eclectic puzzle than a protective barrier.

Rolling his eyes at the mail wards Dumbledore had put up to keep his mail from him in his first year, Harry thumbed back to the beginning of the book to examine the process of changing the wards. What he found was curious.

There was a spell listed along with an explanation of possible changes each person could make. What was curious was that the words on the page were slightly blurred, flickering in and out of focus, each time giving a glimpse of a different set of words beneath. Frowning in concentration, Harry examined the rest of the page. His eyes stopped at the Hogwarts crest on the bottom left. An idea forming in his head, he slowly brought his three Hogwarts rings forwards and pressed them to the seal.

Upon contact a new set of words appeared below in gold ink.

 _ **Prove thyself if thee are worthy. Make the pledge or face our fury.**_

Well shit. That didn't sound too good. First off, how would he prove himself to a book? What would make him worthy? Secondly, what pledge were they talking about? It sounded like a comic that Dudley used to read about a superhero would pledged his life to a lantern. Even when he was younger Harry had thought that that was stupid. Of course, he couldn't really say much seeing as how he was supposed to pledge himself to a book. Lastly, this whole "fury" thing didn't sound too good.

Scowling, he scrunched his brow up, thinking furiously. Well, first he had to consider the book. It was written by the founders and well protected, seeing as how if took a majority of the Hogwarts rings to even reveal the riddle. Since the founders built the castle, Harry assumed that the riddle would reveal something important regarding Hogwarts itself, something that they didn't want to fall into the wrong hands.

As for the pledge, well, he'd taken several of them before. The ones he remembered most were his pledges that he made when he claimed his house rings and pledged to do everything he could to better his houses. Maybe that's what this was all about, maybe he needed to pledge his loyalty to Hogwarts.

Swallowing nervously, Harry once more touched his rings to the crest and spoke. "I, Lord Harry James Potter-Black-Peverell-Gryffindor-Slytherin-Ravenclaw, also known as Lord Hogwarts, do hereby pledge my undying and everlasting allegiance to the betterment of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I pledge to protect its students, to keep them safe within these walls, to educate them to the best of my abilities, and to continue its legacy for as long as I am able and, if necessary, at the cost of my own life. Furthermore, I pledge to do my best to make Hogwarts a better place for all magical beings, not just wizards. So I say, so mote it be."

A flash of light pulsed from his rings to the book and then out through the room. As Harry rubbed his eyes, recovering from the blast of bright light, the others all rushed in and began asking if he was alright. Chuckling, he assured them he was fine and looked down to see if his plan had worked. Seeing a different set of words, he grinned.

"It worked!"

"What worked?!"

"I found this book and something about it was off so I pressed my rings to it and a riddle appeared, telling me to make an oath or face the founders' fury. After some quick thinking I pledged my undying support of the school. And it worked." Daphne, Susan, and Neville stared at him like he'd grown an extra head. Sighing in defeat, Harry set the book down and made a more thorough explanation.

"So what did your pledge reveal?"

Harry shrugged and picked the book back up, scanning the new article. When he reached the end he grinned.

"This is perfect!" What his pledge had revealed was a completely new way to ward the castle that not even the founders had used. In fact, it had never been used before and was purely theoretical. However, the math and spell work all looked sound and had checked by Rowena Ravenclaw herself.

If it worked, Harry would first be able to completely remove the current patchwork system and then add a whole new system that was linked to his magical core but drew off the castle's ambient energy. Instead of regular wards, which only did the specific thing they were designed for, like prevent fire damage for example, these would be more interactive. With a single thought, Harry could evict someone from the castle, let people in, locate students, and basically anything else he could think of. If it worked it would be a huge asset.

Daphne, who was reading over his shoulder, summed up his finding in one word. "Wow." He nodded absently and turned the page, reading about the ritual. Scrolling through it he nodded. It would be difficult, and he'd need some help, but it could be done. The best part was that he didn't need Dumbledore at all. He only really needed two other people solely for supportive elements and to help spread the wards around and take the first set down.

"When do you want to set these up?" Harry thought for a moment, considering.

"I imagine it will take a lot out of me, so we'll want to do them at night so I can sleep right after. How about we meet at the room of requirement at 11?" The others nodded agreeably.

"Excellent. So, did you guys find anything useful in the rest of the rooms?" Neville shrugged and plopped down onto the couch.

"Not really. There was just a bedroom and bathroom, both of which were pretty plain. The only thing exciting is the library. I noticed some really old and rare volumes on some of the shelves." Harry nodded; he'd expected as much.

"Alright, let's come back to the books later and continue our exploring for now." At that Daphne pouted, looking at Harry with big blue puppy dog eyes. He was a sucker for those eyes but held strong.

"We can start at the chamber of secrets," he offered. At that she brightened, kissed him on his cheek, and skipped out of the room.

Neville chuckled. "Dude, you are so whipped." Harry nodded.

"Yah, mate, but when is that a bad thing? Like, ever?" Leaving a contemplative Neville behind, Harry ran after his girlfriend who was still skipping down the hall.

The chamber of secrets was just as he remembered it, minus the basilisk carcass, which the goblins had removed and sold. Slowing to let his friends take in the opulent chamber, Harry pushed some of his magic into his eyes and slowly examined the walls inch by inch, looking for hidden doors. Not finding anything in the main chamber, he moved towards the statue that the snake had come out of and spoke.

" _Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts four_." He'd been extremely relieved to find that he'd retained his ability of parseltongue after the removal of the horcrux. It wasn't necessary in the long run, but it was one of his talents that he'd actually enjoyed, once he knew about it, of course.

At his words the sound of grating stone echoed through the chamber and the tunnel the snake had slithered out of was revealed. Pulling himself up the stone, Harry fired a scourgify into the tunnel before crawling through it on his hands and knees. After a dozen feet he entered what must have been Slytherin's sitting room.

A large fireplace, big enough to fit a fifty foot basilisk, took up the entire right wall. To the left were two chairs, a sofa, and a small, empty desk. There were old footprints in the dust, most likely from when a young Tom Riddle had found this place in his Hogwarts years. Harry only hoped he hadn't found anything too important or dangerous.

Using mage sight he realized that there was a hidden door at the back of the room. Striding forwards, absently registering the sound of his friends entering the room with him, he touched his ring to the wall and declared, "Open for Lord Slytherin".

For a moment Harry thought it had worked. The wall rumbled as if to slide upwards, but after a few seconds it stopped. Still in the main room, Harry frowned. Once again bringing his ring to the door, he tried again, this time in parseltongue. " _Open for Lord Slytherin"_. Again there was rumbling as if the door were going to open, but it soon stopped. Scowling, Harry turned to his friends for ideas.

"Maybe try it as Lord Hogwarts," Susan suggested.

"No, Slytherin wasn't Lord Hogwarts, so he wouldn't have been able to get in using that," Daphne argued.

"Have you tried using your magic?" At Harry's look, Neville rolled his eyes and explained further. "Not your core magic, but your family magic, your Slytherin magic." Harry drew his eyebrows together worriedly.

"I don't know if it's possible to use only that magic and not the others." They all thought for a moment before Daphne brightened.

"Why not just pull on that strand instead of using your whole core?" Harry nodded slowly.

"That could work. Give me a moment." Closing his eyes, Harry quickly delved into his core and located the green strand of magic that comprised the Slytherin ring's contribution to his core. Slowly extracting it, he imagined it growing to encircle the rest of his magic. Once his entire core glowed green he returned to the real world and stepped to the door once more.

" _Open for Lord Slytherin_ ," he hissed, pushing his now green magic through the family ring and into the door. The rumbling began for a third time, but this time it continued on for a full minute. As it stopped, Harry reached forwards and sighed in relief- the remaining wall was an illusion.

"It worked, the wall's an illusion, just like the platform barrier." To prove his point he stepped through it, finding himself in an office of sorts.

The first thing he noticed was that everything was coated in a thick layer of dust that remained undisturbed. Riddle hadn't been able to access these rooms. With a sigh of relief he cast a few cleaning charms and an air freshening charm until he could take a deep breath without sneezing. Then he began to explore.

There was a thick oak desk to his right that held some old documents, most of which were useless to him. However, to his right and directly in front of him stood two large bookshelves that held rare and old books, the majority of which were on potions. Snape would probably give his eye teeth to get his hands on them.

Smirking now, he walked through a door to his right and entered what seemed to be a potions laboratory, complete with a full stock of ingredients, many of which he didn't recognize. On a few things the preservation charms had worn off, but most had held.

Heading back to the office, he discovered that the door on the left lead to the bedroom and bathroom. Both of which were bedecked in gold, not silver and green. It looked as if Slytherin was going for opulence rather than school spirit.

One again examining the areas with mage sight, Harry found another secret door that opened to reveal a large tunnel. Upon exploration, Harry realized that it must have been for the Basilisk. Found in the fireplace, it led directly out into the forbidden forest, presumably so the beast could find food there and not snack on students. Curious about the pipes he'd run through in his second year, he headed back to the main chamber to explore where they lead.

It turned out that most of the tunnels were either barred shut or had collapsed, but four were still working. One led to the entryway by the main doors of the castle, opening into an old broom closet. A second branch off that one led directly to the castle gates. The second tunnel lead to the same hallway Gryffindor's chambers were in. The third led to the library, and the fourth to the Greenhouses. Harry presumed that was where Hufflepuff's quarters had once been and that's why the tunnel existed.

By the time they'd fully explored the chamber and the coinciding tunnel system it was almost noon and they'd worked up a sweat. They unanimously decided to break for lunch and meet back up afterwards in the ROR.

"So Nev, how were things in the tower last night," Harry asked before biting into a roast beef sandwich.

"To be honest, it wasn't pleasant. McGonagall was freaking out when she couldn't find you, everyone was asking Ron questions, which just pissed him off since he didn't know the answers. By the end of the night Seamus had to hit him with a dormio just to get him to stop ranting."

"Sorry mate." Neville shrugged.

"It's not your fault, Harry, and it won't last much longer. Once that zero tolerance policy kicks in he'll either have to shut up or leave. Personally, I'm hoping for the second option." Harry nodded understandably.

"Me too, mate, me too."

It wasn't until 1:30 when they all regrouped in the ROR. Susan had been held back by her friend Hannah, who wanted to catch up after the summer break, and Daphne had had to make a presence in her common room and reestablish her ice queen reputation.

"Alright, now that we're all here, let's get started. Our first order of business is to find allies in the castle. In regards to that, what do you guys think about Hermione?"

"We can't trust her," Daphne immediately began. "Anyone could see that she wasn't convinced about Weasley or Dumbledore and was uncomfortable keeping things from them."

"I hate to agree," Neville began, "but Daphne's right. She obviously doesn't believe you, and at this point we can't risk her slipping info to Dumbles."

Harry simply nodded. "Alright, we'll keep her out of the loop for now, then. Anyone else you guys wanted to bring up?"

"I'll vouch for Hannah," Susan piped up. "We grew up together. Auntie was away at work a lot and had to be able to leave at a moment's notice, so whenever something came up I stayed at the Abbott's. They're practically family, now, and Hannah's like my sister. She'd never betray us and her parents stood up for you at the last Wizengamot meeting."

"Nev, what do you think?"

"Because of her parent's position in the government, I've known Hannah since I was younger and started attending social functions with my Gran. She was always nice to me and seemed to be pretty level headed. I think we can trust her."

"Daph?"

"I, too, grew up at those social functions and was always treated well by the Abbott's. We were never close, but she never struck me as cruel or untrustworthy."

"Alright then, why don't you start feeding her bits and pieces of the story, Sue? If she reacts well, you can tell her more. Eventually, we'll fully bring her in." Susan nodded in agreement and smiled.

"Alright. Daphne, you have any info to share or people to suggest?"

"Yes to both. Firstly, rumor has it that Malfoy's taken the mark, as have all the seventh years and maybe more of the sixth years, though it's unlikely. He-whose-lost-a-screw-or-two doesn't usually mark anyone not of age. Not sure why he marked Malfoy, but I'll ask around.

As for allies, I'm thinking Tracey and Blaise. Both are neutral and neither have any marked family members, nor are they marked themselves. They're also Slytherin's, and likely to side with you given that you're a powerful third party not associated with either the light nor dark sides.

However, approaching them won't be as easy as approaching Hannah. If they get wind of any abrupt changes in my political leanings they might clam up for fear I was reporting on them. I'll have to take things slowly and sound them out as I go. As for other Slytherins, most of the younger years are undecided, along with half the fourth year. The fifth year, however, are all set to be marked upon graduation. That may change as alternatives arise."

"Alright then, keep us updated on your progress. Neville, how are things in Gryffindor?"

"Divided. Really divided. Some people are saying you've gone dark since you broke with Dumbledore and cut ties with the golden trio. They say it's only a matter of time before you turn on them and join the dark lord. Most, however, think that you're just an attention seeking prat with money and power. They think you're an idiot, but not a threat. The minority support your decisions."

"And what of Ron and Ginny?"

"They're playing things surprisingly well. While obviously upset with things, they're saying that it's because they're concerned that you're being controlled by a slimy Slytherin, no offense Daphne."

"None taken. Please continue."

"Alright, well, the basic explanation is they're saying you've gone dark but can be swayed back to the light. They're encouraging people to spy on you and separate you from your friends." And Harry's eyes flashed in anger Neville grinned.

"He was mighty pissed when I asked if the reason he had cut ties with Ron was because Dumbledore had been paying him to spy on you. I even pulled out the Gringotts paperwork for proof. With that their argument basically fell apart. Again, it's only been one day, but most everyone is undecided and swaying with one rumor after another."

"Bloody sheep," Harry muttered angrily.

"Yah, well, what'd you expect?" Here he sighed.

"Not much to be honest. Anyway, I got a letter from Gringotts. Ragnok says he'll gladly give us the locations of the death eaters, but they don't have a way to get us through the wards. They aren't made with back doors in them. We'll have to either rip them apart or use brute force to overpower them. While feasible, it'll leave one of us out of the game and I'm not willing to risk that. We'll have to think of something else." There was silence for a while as they absorbed the bad news.

"In regards to the future, once I put up the new wards I can grant you guys the ability to apparate and portkey in and out. Ragnok assures me that the shack is all set for our use, so once things calm down we can resume our training there.

Now, I don't want to give away our secrets too soon, so we've got to be careful not to been seen together yet. Dumbledore still has enough power to make our lives miserable should we give him the chance. With that being said, keep your journals on you at all times. They'll when there's a new entry, be it from us or Fred and George. I've also keyed Ragnok, Amelia, Augusta, and Cyrus into the system so we can all keep in touch and stay updated.

As for tonight, this is what needs to happen…"

Harry and Daphne stood in the light of the moon, waiting for the signal from Susan and Neville. They stood on the Astronomy tower, which was roughly in the center of Hogwarts grounds. This was the focus point of the ritual. Here the spells would be cast, runes carved, a sacrifice given, and all the magic would flow through this one point. Or more specifically, Harry.

Harry was confident this would work, but Daphne was nervous that that much magical energy running through him would fry him like a bug. Attempting to distract her, Harry pulled her into a hug and asked what she'd been up to all afternoon.

Sighing, she relaxed back into him. "Well, after our meeting finished in the ROR I headed to the library to pick up some reading. I wanted to grab some books on runes to see if I could try to identify the ones you found in Godric's office. But on the way there I ran into Tracey and Blaise, who wanted to talk." She rolled her eyes in annoyance and Harry chuckled.

"Not in a chatty mood?" She scowled.

"Not really. Plus I don't really have much to talk about with them anymore."

"I'm sorry," Harry said softly, placing a gentle kiss on her neck.

"It's not your fault. It's not anyone's fault, really. We were honestly never that close. I mean, we hung out all the time, but that was more for safety than anything. We all have no wish to become mindless followers of you-know-who and get along fairly well, so it just seemed obvious that we should stick together. But even when I'm with them I can't let my guard down. You just never know who's listening, or whose allegiances have changed. Life in Slytherin is so political and tense that you just can't trust anyone, not fully."

"Sounds lonely." She shrugged.

"Didn't matter before. After the accident with Astoria I told myself I'd never get close to anyone again. I told myself that if I didn't like anyone, I wouldn't care if they were hurt and then I wouldn't be hurt. Being isolating in Slytherin just made that easier."

Harry frowned and squeezed her tightly, trying to comfort her silently. Smiling, she turned to face him and squeezed him back, resting her chin on his shoulder.

"Then I met you, and you just broke through my walls like they were made of butter. Honestly, I was kind of offended." Harry chuckled at that and she smiled again. "I mean, I'd spent years building them up and you broke through in what, a few months at the most? It was infuriating."

"Were you tempted to stop things and pull away?" She nodded.

"Of course. I'd been on my own for years. Letting somebody else in was bloody terrifying."

"But?"

"But I was talking to Merida, the goblin healer from our first time chamber visit, one day and her story really struck me. Goblins only have one mate and they mate for life. When she found her mate she was young and foolish and decided she'd rather live her own life than be tied down by a male. She figured she'd have time for romance later. Except that he died that summer of dragonpox while she was on vacation and she never had a chance with him. She became closed off and shut everyone out so she wouldn't have to feel pain again. She grew old and bitter and there she was, a renowned healer, living a pointlessly miserable life.

She told me she didn't want that for me, didn't want me to grow up to be like her. And I figured, what the hell. Voldemort would want to kill me for saving you, Dumbledore would want to kill me for breaking his power over you, and, well, if that many people wanted to kill me I probably didn't have much of a chance at lasting, so I may as well let you in since I'd be dead soon anyway.

And then, I slowly began to depend on you, and you on me, and I found, to my surprise, that I enjoyed your company. And within a few months, I began to realize that I don't actually want to die. So I trained harder. And by the time we left the chamber, I thought that we might actually have a shot at surviving this. And by the time we left the chamber for a second time, I realized how thankful I was that I had you, and how I'd never give up my time spent with you for anything. And slowly, the ice queen melted, and I became, well, me."

She risked meeting Harry's eyes only to see them filled with tears. She brushed them away with her thumb and he smiled.

"You have my word, Daph, that I'll do everything I can to make sure both of us come out of this mess alive, and that I'll be there for you to melt you down every time you throw your masks up, every time you're hurt, or sad, or angry. Anytime, every time, for all of time, I'll be there for you. Forever and ever, no matter what. Because I wouldn't trade my time with you for anything, either, not even for life itself. Because by becoming, well, you, you've helped me become, well, me. And for that, and for everything else, I love you. I love you more than life itself. And I never want to be without you ever again."

A glorious smile broke out on her face and she pulled him into a passionate kiss. As they broke apart to breath, she whispered to him, "I love you too".

"You guys ready?" Daphne and Harry jumped apart at Neville's voice and snatched up their own walkie talkies.

"Uh, erm, yah."

"Wow Harry, must've been a good snog if she's already got you speechless. I've only been gone ten minutes." Harry fought to hide his blush at Neville's words but wasn't quite successful.

"Um, erm…" Neville laughed into the walkie talkie, turning Harry's face even redder.

"Hey guys, I'm in position." Harry secretly promised to get Susan a fantastic Christmas present for rescuing him from Neville's teasing.

"Alright Nev, Susan's just made contact. Since you're both in position we might as well get this show on the road."

"Copy that, Harry. Standing by for further instruction."

"Alright, I'm handing you over to Daphne now." He waited until Daphne finished preparing Susan, then handed her his walkie.

"Is he in position?"

"Yup. Everything's ready."

"Excellent. Let's begin." She kissed him on the cheek for good luck and retreated to the stairwell, hoping to use it for cover should things get violent.

The first part of the ritual was the most dangerous. It involved taking down all existed wards with what was basically a super powered finite. Susan, located on the outskirts of the quidditch pitch, held a large, yellow diamond that was covered in runes and roughly the size of her palm. On the other side of Hogwarts, Neville sat in a boat on the far side of the lake, holding a similarly carved and sized red ruby.

The goblins had provided all the power stones to be used in the ritual and had carved them all in an amazingly fast time of just a few hours. The runes replicated those used on the time chamber, except instead of holding the power and then using it to slow time down, they simply helped contain the power within the stone.

The dangerous part was that in order to get to those stones, all of that power had to be funneled through Harry and then slowly into the stone in order to prevent the stone from exploding and providing enough time for the runes to activate. One little mistake and Harry could fry up from the inside or blast Hogwarts out of the ground. Daphne wasn't looking forward to either option.

Flashing Daphne a smile, Harry knelt onto the cold stone and touched his Hogwarts rings to the stone. With his other hand he used his wand to make a cut on his palm and dripped his blood down over the rings and onto the stone.

As the blood touched the stone a glowing gold rune appeared in the middle of the tower floor. Standing over it, Harry absently healed his hand and began to chant in Latin. The spell itself had three parts: the first took down the wards, then second created a connection between the wards and Hogwarts castle itself, which would provide the power, and then the third would link Harry to the wards.

The first part that tore down the wards had three subparts. The first chant, which Harry was doing now, broke the bonds of the wards and allowed them to fray and dissolve into raw magic. A second chant drew this into his body, while a third allowed him to direct the magic to an outside object (the stones).

The first sub-chant went off without a hitch and Daphne gasped as a multicolored dome appeared around Hogwarts. It was the next part she was most worried about. As Harry began to draw the magic into himself he began to glow and then scream in pain. Daphne waited as long as she could before stepping out to help him.

But at that moment Harry regained control and a stream of multicolored magic came out of each hand, flowing towards the oppositely positioned power stones. Snatching her walkie talkies up she shouted a warning to Susan and Neville, sighing in relief when they responded that everything was going well.

It took the better part of an hour, and by the end Harry was exhausted, but it had worked and there were now no wards protecting Hogwarts at all. Extremely aware of their defenselessness, Harry dragged himself to his feet and began the second chant, imagining Hogwarts wrapped in a giant, clear bubble of protection that sucked ambient energy from the stone of the castle itself and from the stones held by Susan and Neville.

The last chant anchored the wards. This anchoring consisted of two parts: one anchor was him, but another anchor was a set of two more power stones. As he chanted, a large sapphire and emerald, buried under the owlery and boat shack respectively, began to glow with power, as did he as his core became linked with the wards.

As he uttered the last word he collapsed onto the ground in a dead feint, completely exhausted. After letting Neville and Susan know what had happened, she levitated his body back to his quarters, sneaking by the frantic staff and students that were crawling the halls.

Susan and Neville arrived just as she got him into bed.

"Did it work?"

Daphne shrugged, hiding her worry.

"I don't know. The only one who could tell us is Harry, and he's obviously not up for a chat at the moment."

Neville thought furiously for a moment, then scowled and handed her a pepper-up potion.

"Give this to him. I know he needs to sleep but we can't rest until we're sure that Hogwarts is secured."

Daphne nodded, understanding his reasoning but hating things all the same. Gently trickling the potion down his throat, she waited for the telltale steam to come out of his ears. When it didn't, she looked to Neville, who handed her another bottle. Grimacing, she once more poured the potion down his throat, praying it would work.

After a few moments Harry groggily opened up his eyes.

"Harry! How do you feel?"

"M'tired," he mumbled, closing his eyes.

Neville grabbed his shoulders and shook him back awake. "Harry, mate, you can sleep in minute, but we need to know if it worked."

"It?"

"The wards, Harry. Did you put up the wards?"

Harry simply closed his eyes and rolled to the side. Neville shook him again but it didn't work.

"Oh, move over," Susan said sharply. Climbing onto the bed, she slapped Harry across his face as hard as she could. Instantly he was awake, his eyes wide and wary.

"Huh? What?"

"The wards, moron! Are they up or not?" Looking down into his core, Harry noted that a large string was connected to his barrier but went out somewhere else. Following it, he found himself looking at a large, opaque bubble surrounding Hogwarts. He poked it, only to find that it was solid. Feeling the power radiating from it, Harry was positive Hogwarts would be safe for the night. Tomorrow he could personalize things.

"Oi, Harry, don't you fall asleep on me! I'll slap you again, I mean it!"

Opening his eyes groggily, he focused his tired eyes on Susan. "It worked. They're up and strong. Hogwarts will be fine tonight." Then he passed out, falling onto his pillows with a resounding snore.

Daphne, Susan, and Neville sighed in relief, then made their way back to their common rooms. They didn't want the teachers noticing they were missing and putting two and two together. Little did they know that one professor was watching in the shadows, doing exactly that.


	20. Popcorn Anyone?

It seemed that fate was taking pity on its favorite chew toy and granting him a rare bout of good luck. As Harry awoke, he quickly wondered what the price would be. After all, things didn't work out this perfectly around him. It simply didn't happen. Sure, he managed to survive all sorts of crap, but it was never this clean or precise.

Never in a million years did Harry think that if he drained himself on the Saturday night before classes, he would awake on Monday morning, just in time for said classes, thus avoiding any punishable offences. But, alas, he did, and so with some trepidation he began to make his way to the Great Hall, wondering when his luck would end.

Ah, there it went. As he turned the corner he stumbled upon McGonagall and Dumbledore making their way towards breakfast, heads down in conversation. Before Harry could turn and run, McGonagall spotted him and all hell broke loose.

"Good morning Mr. Potter. I see you've-"

"Harry!" Dumbledore cut McGonagall off, (not a wise idea in any circumstance), and charged at his young victim. "I demand to know what you've done to the wards this instant!"

McGonagall, glaring at Dumbledore for interrupting her, turned curious eyes upon one of her favorite students. "That's what that magical discharge was? It shook the whole castle down to its foundations! We thought we were under attack!"

"Sorry professor, I didn't intend to startle you. I was simply updating the wards and found they were a little much for me."

Neville, approaching from the other side, heard Harry's comment and snorted. His friend was a master of understatements. "Yah mate, after all, more than a little and you'd've slept more than a day and a half, after all," he quipped with a roll of his eyes. In response Harry blushed and shot his friend a glare which had absolutely no effect on him.

"A day and a half?! Mr. Potter, do you need to go see Madam Pomphrey?"

"Never mind that, what did you do to the wards?! They're like nothing I've ever seen before, and could be dangerous. After all, the worst place to experiment with wards is in a school full of children!"

McGonagall glared at her boss for discounting a student's safety but refrained from commenting. She, too, was curious about the wards that now encircled the grounds. Instead of regular wards, which were made of strands of magic woven together in specific patterns, these wards were completely solid, almost like a bubble in its design. Furthermore, the power simply radiated off of them. Honestly, for the first time in a long time, she finally felt safe in the castle she considered to be home.

Ignoring the headmaster's hypocrisy, Harry managed to respond civilly, er, sort of. "I assure you, _Albus_ , the wards will harm no students or teachers. Just because you've never seen the like doesn't mean that they're dangerous, it simply means that you don't know everything. A shock, I'm sure, but I believe you'll come to terms with it."

Harry could have sworn that McGonagall sniggered at that, but he was more concerned with the growing look of rage upon the headmaster's face. In all honesty, it shocked Harry to the core. He was used to the headmaster hiding his emotions behind his grandfatherly mask. To see such open anger, loathing, and even hatred was new for him.

"I demand you connect me to the wards at once! I am the headmaster and the school needs to be safe! If you don't I'll have to go to the board on this!" Spittle flew from his mouth as that last statement and Harry stepped back in disgust, his face turning cold.

"Complain if you want, headmaster, but it will achieve nothing. These wards were designed by the founders themselves and are accessible only by their controlling heirs. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm late for breakfast."

As Harry stalked off, he failed to see the glimmer of realization in his enemy's eyes. Harry had said the wards were controllable by the founder's heirs, but Albus was well aware of the fact that he was only heir to three of the founders. That left one more heir out there for Albus to find and exploit. Completely abandoning breakfast, Albus turned and rushed off to the library, eager to start his new project. He failed to see his deputy narrowing her eyes at his back in suspicion.

McGonagall was no fool, she knew there was bad blood between Harry and Albus. At first, she'd thought it to be a typical case of a teen rebelling against their authority figure, but as time went on, she began to see what Harry was talking about. She'd always assumed Albus knew what he was doing and simply had an unorthodox work method, but the past few days had led her to doubt that. Perhaps Harry was right after all, and, if so, then he needed to know what had just happened. Vowing to let him know, and to keep her eyes open, McGonagall turned and made her way to breakfast, where Harry sat with his friends, completely unaware that he'd just made a new ally.

"What've you got today?" McGonagall had passed out class schedules after Breakfast, along with a note asking Harry to meet with her that Afternoon for tea. He'd simply nodded at her, then went on to examine his schedule.

"Care of Magical Creatures this morning, then a break, then Runes with Daphne. You?"

"A break, then Herbology, then potions," Neville responded.

"One good, one bad."

"You're telling me! At least I'll have someone to sit with. Daph's in Herbology with me and Susan's also taking potions."

"Yah, it's nice we won't be alone for classes. Plus, I doubt anyone problematic, like Malfoy or Weasley, will be in either of my classes today." Neville nodded in agreement.

"When'd you get so lucky?"

"I don't know mate, but to be honest it's kind of making me nervous."

Classes passed that day as expected. Hagrid was his usual self, and runes was mostly review. True to his prediction, neither Malfoy nor Ron were in Harry's classes that day. It was a double blessing, really. One, he didn't have to see their obnoxious faces, and two, when he did (tomorrow) the zero tolerance policy would be in full effect and the fun would really begin. The only downside to things had been that he and his friends, and especially his girlfriend, couldn't openly greet each other like the friends they were. They knew some people would explode at reality, and were hoping the zero tolerance policy would help dissuade some and punish others.

Soon after Runes ended Harry nodded subtly to Daphne and made his way to McGonagall's office for her requested meeting and to get his interview out of the way. Knocking on the open door he was quickly instructed to step inside and served tea.

"Alright Mr. Potter, I'll come right out and say it. How private is our conversation right now?" A look of surprise crossed his face before he flicked his fingers and threw up some spells.

"No one can listen in, as of now, not even portraits. I wasn't aware you were taking my claims about Dumbledore seriously."

She pursed her lips at that but nodded all the same. "Yes, well, at first I'd thought you were simply being a rebellious teen, but lately I've noticed things that have changed my mind."

"What kind of things?"

"First there's the fact that you're requests make more sense than his. Being Lord Hogwarts you could have held our jobs over our heads and demanded A's in the course and no homework, but instead all you asked was for us to treat all students fairly and to look out for their wellbeing, something we should have been doing already. He, on the other hand, has asked the teachers to keep an extra close eye on you and report any and all incongruities back to him. For the record, none of us agreed, not even Severus. His fury at that was rather alarming. He's not one to lose control like that."

"Speaking of that, lately I've seen the anger surface more and more. It's like he's losing control of himself." Harry nodded in agreement but didn't comment. "There's more, though. His interest in your life in simply unhealthy. He asked me to change to classes you'd signed up for but I wouldn't do so without your permission. That, too, made him furious."

"Then there were the wards, which should have detected basilisks and blood quills, and the funds, which he had no reason to steal and no excuse for, other than his silly phrase 'it was for the greater good'. With his beat down at the Wizengamot and misdeeds coming to light, combined with his interest in your life and temper tantrums when he doesn't get his way, many of us are beginning to question his decisions.

"And there's one more thing." She told him about Dumbledore's reaction that morning, which brought a brief flicker of worry to both their faces.

Finally, Harry spoke. "Professor, I'll admit I was prepared for a much more hostile meeting today. I understand my behavior has been disrespectful, but then again, it was intended to be so since I've lost all respect for the man. It sounds like you, too, have begun walking down that road. In trying to control my every action he may well alienate himself completely.

Speaking of this, I must ask, hypothetically and completely off the record, if you will be able to take over his functions if the situation worsens. This is not official, mind, but you've impressed me today with your ability to see through his grandfatherly persona and to take action when you felt it necessary."

McGonagall stared at him for a moment, as if gauging his sincerity, before she nodded slowly.

"Excellent. I understand this is a man you've known and respected for years, but I'm afraid we're both going to have to realize that neither of us really knew the man, or perhaps he is no longer the man he once was. Either way, I suggest extreme diligence in your part, and strong occlumency barriers."

She nodded again. "Many of us have taken up the mind arts as a hobby recently, seeing as how certain events have come to light. I believe Filius is the leader of that movement. Either way, I'll be sure to keep you appraised of our progress."

"Thank you, I appreciate that. Is there anything else you wish to discuss today, be it about the headmaster or anything else school related?"

"Not at the moment, though I may think of something later."

"In that case I'll be going. Feel free to owl me, either as Harry or Lord Hogwarts, if you do think of something. If it's of a serious nature or an emergency, call for Dobby and he'll be able to contact me quickly."

With that said they parted ways, one to share the news with his friends, the other to share the news with her colleagues. It seemed that Harry had more support in the school than he realized.

The next day, Tuesday, was the day to group had been waiting for. After living and training together for months on end, it was difficult to have to cut contact completely and pretend as though things were the same as before. The last three days had been a mismatch of sneaking around, making subtle glances, and turning to tell a friend something, only to remember they weren't there. Now, though, warnings and detentions were a thing of the past, and they were ready to face the music. The zero tolerance policy was about to find its first victims.

Things started off with a bang, literally. Harry, Daphne, Neville, and Susan all walked in to the Great Hall for breakfast chatting away. Neville and Susan were holding hands, while Harry had an arm slung around Daphne's waist, holding her tight. Every once in a while he would lean down to whisper something in her ear and she would flash him a smile or laugh before making a response.

As the audience noticed the change the noise level in the room dropped, first to whispers of disbelief, then to a silent apprehension. It was like they knew what was coming and were just waiting for the show. And boy, what a show it was.

Harry and Daphne had placed bets on who would crack first, Dumbledore, Malfoy, or Ron. Harry had said it would be Malfoy, while Daphne held out it would be Ron.

Sure enough Daphne was right. As the four passed the Gryffindor table on their way to the Hufflepuff one, a certain red head with horrible table manners and a filthy mouth sprung to his feet, screaming obscenities at Harry for 'consorting with a filthy snake' and 'sullying the Gryffindor image'. Actions fueled by anger, he fired off a curse straight at Daphne's head. By the color of the spell, Harry knew it could prove fatal.

As one the group reacted. Susan shielded as Harry tackled Daphne down to the floor. Neville quickly fired off a stunner, hitting the red headed boy straight in the chest and knocking him out cold. Then all four stood and assumed defensive positions, knowing that was only the start of things.

Sure enough, as Draco Malfoy opened the doors to the Great Hall and saw the boy who'd made him into a pauper with his arm around the one girl he himself wasn't able to have, Malfoy saw red. All weekend he'd undergone the humiliation he himself had once placed upon others, and the pressure had slowly begun to build. It just so happened that he had reached his breaking point that very morning, and with no thought to any consequences for his actions, no slytherin cunning anywhere, he pulled out his wand and fired off a cutting curse at his greatest enemy.

He became further enraged when said enemy simply batted the curse aside as if it were a bothersome house fly and fired a stunner back without even looking at him.

Draco proved more intelligent than Ron as he quickly dodged behind a table before springing back up to fire once more. This cat and mouse game continued for several minutes, causing untold damage to the great hall and several injuries among innocent students, until Susan was able to sneak up behind the blond prat and hit him with a stunner. After making sure no one was seriously injured, the group of four approached the teacher's table, still alert for trouble.

They were especially watching Ginny's reaction at seeing her brother put down like the animal he was, but she made no move to join the attack, simply glaring at Daphne with jealous hatred. For a few moments everyone was on edge as they waited with baited breath to see if anyone else was stupid enough to attack. The tension was almost suffocating until Harry nodded to his companions, who holstered their wands. The hall gave a collective sigh of relief and sat back to watch the show, which was by no means over yet.

"Mr. Potter, I'm very disappointed in you."

"What?! Are you kidding me! I was simply defending myself from attack! If anything you should be disappointed in them!"

"Oh I am, I assure you, and proper measures will be taken for their actions. I think detention for a week with Severus will cover things."

"A week," Susan interrupted, enraged. "They could have killed any one of us and you're giving them a week of _detention_?!" Dumbledore simply looked at her disappointedly and shook his head.

"Has Mr. Potter influenced you so much that you've acquired the blood lust he has? Yes, those two students made a mistake in the heat of their anger, but it was clear that those actions were provoked. After all, you four don't normally come in here like you did today. What else could it have been but an act to provoke attack?"

Harry, his friends, several students, and most of the staff were looking at him as if he'd grown an extra head. After deciding that that comment was too stupid to waste the energy in replying, Harry turned to his friends and took charge.

"Susan, call your Aunt. Have her bring aurors; tell them their needed for two attempted murders. Daphne, bind those two idiots. We don't want them to wake up and hurt anyone else. Neville, help Madam Pomphrey to treat any injured students. Professor McGonagall, would you be kind enough to let Susan borrow your floo?" She nodded without looking to her boss and rapidly headed for her office, Susan hot on her tail.

Poppy and Neville headed over to Gryffindor table, which was closest to the carnage and had the most injuries, and began healing the scratches and bruises resulting from the fight. Thankfully no one was injured more seriously.

Harry took the next few minutes to explain Albus's mistakes to the old fool. " _Headmaster_ Dumbledore, you are charged with the safety of each student at this school. That safety is put in jeopardy when you allow violent offenders, who fired _lethal_ curses at _children_ , to stay in that school. I don't care if they were provoked by something as inane and he holding my girlfriend's hand, their actions speak for themselves. You also seem to be forgetting that there's a new zero tolerance policy in place. The same policy calls for expulsion of any violent, purposeful aggressors. So here's the deal. Either you expel them, or I'll fire you and get a headmaster that will. Understood?"

Dumbledore looked like he wanted to argue but managed to hold his tongue. "Understood. I'll have their parents notified immediately and their belongings sent home." In truth, Albus was more worried at the fact that Harry was dating a Slytherin than the fact that students had almost died that morning.

Just ad Harry ended his 'talk' with the headmaster, Amelia Bones came onto the scene, having been warned in advance of that days possible outcomes and therefore having been ready to rush off at a moment's notice.

A priori incantatem on both the sleeping wizard's wands revealed a reducto from Ron and a crucio from Malfoy. As the two wizards were revived and arrested for attempted murder and quickly escorted off the premises in magic suppressing cuffs, Harry turned to Dumbledore. "A reducto to the head and a crucio into a crowd. Still standing by your wish to keep them in a school, Albus?" Without waiting for a reply he turned his back on the headmaster and stood to address the students.

"Fellow students," he began, "You've now seen the effects of the zero tolerance policy first hand. Those two students will be charged and face the full extent of the law. They'll also be expelled. It is up to a court to decide whether they retain their magic. To address you're no doubt many questions, yes, Daphne and I are dating, as are Susan and Neville. And yes, we are the ones pressing charges. Attacking the head of a most Ancient and Noble Family is punishable by death." Here gasps were heard around the room. He paused for a moment, before ending on a warning. "Be happy we were kind enough to throw them to the dementors instead. Next time we might not be so forgiving."

There were many out there wondering if the dementors were actually better than a quick death, but they all got the message loud and clear. Harry Potter and his friends were not to be messed with!

After the events of that morning everyone steered clear of Potter and his pals, or, as they were now known, the fearsome foursome (don't laugh at the name too much, it was Lavender who came up with it and for her it was actually pretty good. When he first heard it Harry wasn't even sure she could spell it). This being the case, the rest of the week was mostly uneventful.

Mostly, of course, being the operative term. There were several incidents scattered across the week that do in fact rate mention.

First were the rest of the teacher meetings Harry, as Lord Hogwarts, attended. For the most part they were all pretty much the same. Few teachers had complaints or suggestions just yet, as most were still trying to figure him out. Still, most proved supportive of his aims and changes and told him so. Filius Flitwick was especially supportive of Harry's recent activities, saying it was about time someone cleaned Hogwarts up. He also made sure Harry knew that he could contact him at any time for help or advice, something which Harry was grateful for.

The real surprise proved to be Snape. Harry had saved him for last, knowing it would be especially unpleasant. Indeed, Harry had actually set aside his entire afternoon around the upcoming meeting. Figuring he'd need to be cheered up both before and after, he invited his friends over for dinner and asked Daphne to stick around so he'd have something nice to come home to. His friends proved supportive, although Neville hummed a funeral dirge as Harry set off towards the dungeons.

"Why does Snape live in the bloody dungeons anyway," Harry muttered to himself as he approached the Potion Master's office door. "There's plenty of rooms upstairs." Clearing his head of such unimportant, yet completely logical thoughts, Harry gave himself a shake and knocked on the heavy wooden door.

"Enter."

 _Geez,_ Harry thought to himself, _it's like I'm here for detention and not to check on his freaking job. Greasy git._ Snape sat at his desk, grading papers, and gestured to the seat in front of it without looking up at him. Once Harry was seated and Snape had finished writing what was most likely a scathing report on the misuse of commas or such nonsense, he looked up, making eye contact with his least favorite pupil. Harry suddenly felt grateful that he knew occlumency and promised to get Daphne something very nice for her birthday.

For several minutes the teacher and pupil, employee and employer, adult and child, simply stared at each other, faces blank. The only sound in the room was the ticking of a clock, which Harry couldn't recall ever seeing before. Both of them sat rigidly in their chairs, eyeing the other up. Then suddenly, as if a string had been cut, Snape gave out a sigh and settled back in his chair.

For the first time Harry detect emotion on the professor's face, and he was absolutely shocked to find that Snape actually looked kind of impressed. Despite that shock, his training held and his face remained blank and detached.

"I'll be honest with you, Mr. Potter," Snape's voice began smoothly, snapping Harry out of his thoughts. "When I went to Dumbledore those years ago it was with the same goal in mind as you: to see to the demise of the creature known as the Dark Lord. I will admit, though, that it took me much longer to see what kind of man he was under his grandfatherly façade than you did."

Harry was trying really, really hard not to show surprise and confusion as Snape talked. When he was sure he was in control, Harry managed a question. "I'm afraid I don't understand."

Instead of the sneer and nasty comment he was expecting, Harry simply received a nod.

"That is unsurprising. For a man who advocates trust and peace, the headmaster is surprisingly tight lipped about most of his plans. I believe that is what leads to the mess we find ourselves in currently, as well as many similar messes in the past." Harry nodded in agreement. Dumbledore keeping secrets was a huge part of Harry's hatred towards the man.

"Tell me, what do you know of why I am here. Teaching, that is."

Harry felt uneasy at the question. His first thought was _because you like to torture children?_ but he didn't think that would do any good. Still, Snape seemed to know what he was thinking as he gave a humorless laugh.

"I assure you, Potter, it isn't because I simply hate children that much. In actuality the situation is much more complex. To understand, though, I shall have to start at the beginning. I grew up just a few houses down from your mother. It was I who told her she was a witch, and we instantly became friends. I believe we were nine at the time. I was a socially awkward child with a poor home life and as a result had few friends. Lily and I, however, simply clicked, and soon became quite close. We remained so up through sixth year, despite the house difference. Then it all fell apart."

"You're father and his friends," Harry noticed that the phrase was said without the usual hatred, "had taken an instant dislike to me at Hogwarts and turned their sights upon the greasy slytherin. I fought back with all that I had and retaliated in kind. Over the years things escalated, until that fateful day which I believe you saw in my pensieve." Harry ducked his head in embarrassment but Snape didn't seem too upset with him now.

"What you didn't see was my response to the situation. I was upset, victimized, embarrassed, and my pride was severely wounded. Why Lily, a girl, stuck up for me in front of a crowd, I struck out and called her a mudblood. It was the worst mistake of my life, and one that she never forgave me for. I joined the death eaters soon after."

"Then a few years later I overheard a prophecy being given and raced back to my new master like an obedient puppy. It wasn't until later, when the dark lord became convinced _you_ were the child it spoke of, that I realized my mistake. I begged him to reconsider, to spare her life, anything, but he wouldn't hear of it. I went to Dumbledore that night and switched sides, becoming a double agent. I hoped it would be enough to save your mother, but it wasn't."

"After the war I was arrested and sent to Azkaban to await trial. Only the word of Albus Dumbledore kept me from the dementor's wrath, and it was with relief that I followed him back to Hogwarts and accepted him offer to teach potions. I made an oath to your mother, to protect your life, an oath to myself, to end his, and an oath to Dumbledore, to do as he bid. None of the oaths were magically binding, but I meant them all."

"The first few years were fine, but as time went on I began to see more of the real Dumbledore, and each time I like it less and less. I stayed because I owe my life to him, but things have finally gone too far. I told Lily I'd protect you, and I failed. For that I am sorry. I can't change what happened then, but I can change what happens now. If you are interested, I am willing to become a spy for you, a triple agent if you will."

Harry simply looked at him, his jaw hanging open in surprise, and Snape actually chuckled. "I'm sure you have questions, Mr. Potter. Now is your opportunity to ask them."

"Why now," Harry blurted out. "You've hated me ever since you saw me and have always treated me like so. So why are you telling me all this now?"

"I did indeed hate you, and for no fault of your own, but because you looked like the man who tormented me for years and cost me my first and only friend, and because you were a constant reminder that I'd failed to protect her. As for why I'm telling you this now, the answer is simple. It's because you actually stand a chance"

"Say what you may about our status before, but you must admit that you were as likely to beat the Dark Lord in a fight as Longbottom was to produce a proper potion. This past week, however, and most of the summer, you've changed. I was watching you the other night with your friends and I must say you played everything very much like a Slytherin. Plus, I trust Miss Greengrass to prevent your ego from inflating too much." Harry had to smile at that, but then he frowned as another thought occurred.

"Alright sir, you've explained the enmity and reason for change, but what about the occlumency last year?" A familiar scowl graced Snape's features.

"That still remains a frustration to me. The headmaster assured me that you knew the basics and needed to experience the Dark Lord's style of Legilimency to be properly prepared. You're lack of skill at the subject was decidedly disappointing after the headmaster's declaration of your promise in the art."

"Wait," Harry said confused, "Dumbledore told you he'd taught me occlumency?" Snape looked at him confused.

"Yes, he said he'd provided you with reading and prepared you with the basics. Is that not the case?"

"Sir, my first occlumency lesson consisted of you screaming legilimens and battering away in my head. I came out with the nastiest headaches." Harry thought he'd seen Snape mad after the pensieve incident, but if that was him being mad, this was Snape being furious.

"That bearded bastard! He told me you were prepared! And when I asked him to check up on you he said you were fine! If I'd known I would have done things very differently!"

Harry had honestly thought Snape had hated his guts and simply enjoyed causing him pain. To find out Dumbledore was the cause behind such a massive misunderstanding was just another strike against him.

"Well if I wasn't convinced before I am now. I'd be honored to have your help, sir." Harry told him about Dobby and shook his hands, feeling better about much of everything.

Daphne was prepared to confront a raging Lord Potter. When Harry burst through the door she thought for sure things had gone horribly and rushed to him with a calming drought. When he pushed the vial aside and crushed her in a hug, twirling her about like she were a little girl, Daphne couldn't help but be relived.

"I take it things went well?"

"Oh Daph, things went fantastically! We've now a spy in the dark lord's camp. We're even closer to defeating the dark bastards, both of them!" Daphne wanted to ask about that comment but Harry soon distracted her with his lips and the question went flying from the room, and did most of her clothing.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the castle, Albus Dumbledore gave out a loud whoop. He'd found what he was looking for.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for the reviews! If you see a typo or grammatical problem let me know and I'll fix it asap. I've been told to get my butt in gear and get a beta so I'll do that as well. See you Sunday!


	21. Hufflepuff's Heir

The next few weeks passed in a blur of classes, training, and research. Harry had shown his friends the runic project in Godric's study and Daphne had become incensed when several trips to the library failed to produce results. The runes weren't Norse, Greek, Egyptian, Sumerian, or anything else she could think of. Even the books in the other founders chambers didn't prove helpful, as they were advanced and beyond the comprehension of the four teens. Finally admitting defeat, Daphne had given up on the project and moved on to other pursuits.

Harry, however, felt that solving the founders' puzzle could be the key to their success and thus persevered. Thinking of his allies, he owled Gringotts and Amelia asking for help. Amelia soon owled back saying that she'd ask the unspeakables to look into it, and Ragnok replied that he'd have Griphook search the Goblin library to see if they had anything helpful.

Days passed with no news and Harry began to grow agitated. Things were going well, yes, but almost too well. His friends quickly picked up on his agitation and dragged him into the chamber to practice dueling.

They'd all continued to improve, but the one making the greatest strides was Harry. Not only was his arsenal of spells extensive, but he was also able to cast them all silently. His favorite was a hex spoken in parseltongue that he'd found in Slytherin's journal.

It turned out that using parseltongue to cast spells didn't actually altered the magic itself, just as casting in Gobbledygook didn't alter the spell. However, it being its own language and own branch of magic, there were several spells invented by Slytherin himself that had no English counterpoint. One of these was the hex Harry had named the reverser. When cast correctly, the opponent's control of his actions was affected. When he went to move his right arm, his left would move instead. If he went to step backwards, the wrong leg would step forwards. A simple finite wouldn't counter it, and it took very little energy to cast.

Reading the journals of the three founders had actually unearthed several new or lost spells that would prove useful in combat. Rowena had invented a charm allowing the caster to read the victims thoughts for five minutes. It was passive and undetectable but took a lot out of the caster. Godric had written much about his favorite spell, the spell of justice. It called upon magic to judge the victim and then enact punishment. Harry was interested in using it on Voldemort, but it was difficult since it took a lot of energy to cast and had to be cast at close range. Plus, Harry didn't want to do anything to Voldemort until all the Horcruxes were gone.

Speaking of the horcruxes, they were making excellent progress. The diary had been destroyed in second year and the piece in his scar was destroyed during the goblin ritual that summer. In addition, the goblins had retrieved and destroyed Hufflepuff's cup, the Gaunt family ring, and Slytherin's locket. Daphne and Cyrus had retrieved Ravenclaw's diadem and Ragnok had personally destroyed it. According to their calculations, the only one left was Nagini, who Snape said was never far from the Dark Lord's side. They'd have to work out a plan to get to her.

A note from Cyrus confirmed Harry's thoughts that something was going on and that things were not as good as they seemed. The day had started so well, too. He'd woken late Saturday morning with a sleeping and naked Daphne in his arms and Dobby had brought their breakfast to them in bed, waffles with fresh fruit and whipped cream. He'd defeated all three of his friends in a group duel and spent the time before lunch reading Slytherin's journal. Lunch, that day taken at the Hufflepuff table, had been just as delicious and was full of laughter and fun.

Cyrus's letter immediately ended the laughs and the look on his face led Harry's friends to immediately somber up. They retired to his personal quarters to hear the contents of the note, hoping for the best but expecting the worse.

"What is it," Neville asked when the door had been locked and privacy charms had surrounded the room.

"It's from Cyrus. He says Dumbledore's up to something at the ministry but he has no idea what. He asked Amelia to look into it but the old fool's covered his tracks well and has been one step ahead of her the whole time. The only thing she'd been able to find was that he'd made several trips to the Department of Child Welfare and that he was interested in gaining custody of someone. He was also spotted in the annex of the ministry that houses all the files on magical families."

His friends shared grim but confused looks.

"Who the hell could he want to get custody of? Certainly not you?"

Harry shook his head. "No, not only am I emancipated, but I have too much support now for him challenge me. Not to mention I outrank him and he's hanging onto his job by a thread. No, he wouldn't risk pissing me off at this point."

"That still leaves the question of who he's trying to gain custody of, and why," Susan stated.

"Well, let's think about this logically. What would he gain by taking custody of someone," Daphne asked.

"Control," harry answered quietly. "Control of the child, the funds, the power, everything."

"Alright, so what does he want control of?"

"Me," Harry answered again.

"No," Daphne argued, "it's too late for that and he knows it. What else?"

"Hogwarts," Neville stated uncertainly. A bell went off in Harry's head and he suddenly sat up, McGonagall's words replaying in his mind.

"When I talked with McGonagall a few weeks ago she said that Dumbles had run off to research something after talking with me. I'd told him that I wouldn't tie him into the wards even if I could, since only the controlling Founder's heir could connect."

Daphne gasped, immediately understanding the problem. "Harry, you're only heir to three of the founders. That means…"

He nodded grimly. "He's found the fourth. He's found Hufflepuff's heir."

"Shit," Susan swore. "Just what we need, another person running around, getting in our business and reporting to Dumbledore."

"What if we got to them first," Neville said suddenly. "We could get them over to our side and protect them against the headmaster. If we claimed they were under our house protection he couldn't touch them."

"That's a good idea, Nev, but there's one problem. We have no idea who the hair actually is."

"Oh. Right. Well, why not ask the house elves what books Dumbledore's been reading. If he can find the hair from some books, then so can Daphne."

"Yah, but will she be fast enough? I don't mean to question your abilities, Daph, you know I love you, but we don't have time to play it safe. We need help."

"Who do you have in mind?"

He looked at her gravely, anticipating her reaction. "Hermione." Daphne immediately scowled and when to shoot the idea down but Harry was too fast for her. "I know you don't like it, but think about it. Hermione knows that library like the back of her hand and can tear her way through a book faster than I can catch a snitch. With both of you on the case we'll find the heir in no time." The scowl remained on her face but Daphne nodded grudgingly.

"Fine, but for the record I think this is a bad idea." Harry nodded at her and kissed her hand.

"I know love, but we don't have much of a choice."

They found Hermione in the library, reading a large book on magical underwater creatures. Seeing the four of them approach her with three large books, she marked her page and set her book aside.

"Hermione, we need your help." She eagerly accepted the opportunity to show up the Ice Queen and help her best friend at the same time.

"What do you need me to do?" The look of relief on Harry's face made her feel quite smug, as did the scowl on Daphne's face.

"We need you to find Hufflepuff's heir from these three books." She looked at the books in question. The first was a history of the founders and their known descendants. The second was a record of all wizarding families in Britain in the last five hundred years. The third was a magical directory of all magical children born in the UK. Normally it wasn't accessible by students but the castle had given it to Harry willingly. She nodded in determination and set to work, not even sparing a glance for the blonde bimbo next to her. She'd show them who the smartest witch of their age was, and it certainly wasn't a slytherin.

It was just five hours later when Hermione gave a triumphant cry and help up a piece of parchment. "I've got it!"

The four teens instantly jumped up and surrounded her, ignoring the disapproving look from Madam Prince. "Who is it? Someone in the school?"

Hermione shook her away in the negative. "No, actually. You see, I traced the Hufflepuff line down as far as I could to here," she pointed to a diagram of a family tree, "where the line supposedly died off. However, this book," she pointed to another text, "states that Daniella Morton, daughter of Alexander Hufflepuff, gave birth to a squib. They shunned her, or course, the pureblooded bigots, and all trace of her disappears. However, a footnote in this text," she pointed to the book with the diagram, "reports that the daughter was rumored to marry a muggle by the name of Kent. It's a stretch, but there is a Katie Kent listed here in the magical directory. A little further research revealed that she was born to nonmagical parents five years ago but was born a witch, not a muggle. Her parents died in a car accident soon after her birth."

"That must be who Dumbledore's after," Susan said. "That's why he was in the annex, he was looking for her address!"

Harry nodded grimly and took out a piece of parchment. "I'll have Amelia look up the address right away. With luck we can beat him to her."

"Wait, what's going on," Hermione asked. "What do you mean you want to get to her before he does?"

"He wants access to the Hogwarts wards, Hermione, that's why he wants a founder's heir. Since the only one I'm not heir to is Hufflepuff, he spent the last few weeks doing what you've done today. We need to get to her before he does. The last thing the world needs is another child abused by Dumbledore."

"But Harry, surely the headmaster wouldn't harm the girl. He is headmaster of the school, maybe he just wants to bring her to safety. And surely he would be a better parent than you, after all, you're just kids!"

"Hermione, look at all that he's done to me and tell me you think he should be allowed access to another child."

She sighed in frustration. "That's the thing, Harry, there's no _proof_ of anything he's done except the thefts, and the evidence suggests the girl doesn't have any money to her name."

"You're making excuses for him, just like everybody else."

"Just because he made one mistake doesn't make him evil."

Daphne had had enough. "No, but it makes you an idiot. Come on Harry, there's no use arguing. She's obviously too far gone to see reason, and we need to send that letter." Harry gave a longing look at Hermione but nodded sadly.

"If you value our friendship, Hermione, you won't tell Dumbledore what we've found." With that he took off for the owlery, his friends right behind him. Hermione sighed again and fought not to cry. Why was he forcing her to choose? Why couldn't things be like they were before, when they all got along and knew what they were doing?

Standing, she let a few tears slip and made up her mind. If she had to choose, she would chose her morals over her friendship, and her morals were telling her that a child deserved to be raised by an adult and not a bunch of paranoid children. Gathering her books she stormed off in search of Dumbledore, not noticing the big green eyes watching her angrily.

At the last minute Harry decided an owl wouldn't be fast enough so he ran to the nearest floo he could find, McGonagall's. At the look on his face she didn't even ask about his plans, simply pointing to the vase on the mantle when he asked where she kept her floo powder. She closed her eyes as the four teen's flooed away so that she could honestly tell Albus that she hadn't seen anything.

A surprised Amelia immediately granted their request to visit the annex and actually accompanied them, her curiosity getting the better of her. It was a good thing she went, too, for there were a lot of files to look through. Luckily she found it quite quickly and within minutes had created a portkey for the teens that would take them just next to the address listed in the file. Wishing them luck, she walked away briskly, heading to her floo. Cyrus and Augusta would want to hear this.

They arrived in a small clearing in what seemed to be a forest. Glancing around, they found that they could see nothing but could hear children laughing in the distance. After walking just a few hundred feet they reached the edge of the woods and viewed their destination.

The orphanage was small and poorly kept. It was a two story wooden building with a sagging roof and large dirt yard surrounded by a simple wood fence that was more for looks than anything else. The faded sign over the front door read "Little Denton's Home for Orphans". About five children were playing with a ball out back and several more could be seen through the old grungy windows. The teens were about to step out and announce themselves when none but Albus Dumbledore appeared with a pop just five feet in front of their hiding place.

Immediately they ducked down, cursing their bad luck. Noticing the papers in the old man's hand, Susan swore silently. "Those papers have the ministry seal," she whispered. "He must have gotten custody sooner than we thought. Once the matron signs them they're official and any interference will be considered kidnapping."

"Shit," Harry muttered under his breath. He'd been hoping for more time. "Alright, this is the plan. Nev, Sue, you distract the matron and Dumbles. Daph and I will find the girl and claim her under family protection. Got it?" After receiving three nods he wished them all luck and began to make his way through the woods to the enclosed area.

"So, how exactly are we supposed to distract him without giving ourselves away," Neville asked his girlfriend.

In response she gave him an evil grin and morphed into her animagus form. Neville, catching on to her idea, morphed as well and trotted right up to the headmaster, wagging his tail rapidly while taking in the conversation.

"I've already told you," Dumbledore continued in frustration, "these papers are entirely legal and grant me custody of the girl in your care known as Katie Kent.

"And I've told you," the Matron replied frostily, "that your paperwork is absolute rubbish. Even if I did believe your little tale about magic being real, you would still be required to follow the _regular_ system of contacting child services and going through their adoption process. You can't just storm in here and take a little girl for your own fun," she finished in disgust.

Dumbledore's cheeks colored at the insult but he bravely continued his argument. "That system applies only to muggles. Our government has its own procedure and has granted me custody of the child."

"Well I don't recognize _your_ government. Anybody can print out official looking papers and spin a good story, after all, although they're usually much saner than yours."

"I assure you these are the real thing," he replied in agitation.

"And I assure you that I take my duties very seriously and won't sign any paperwork let alone give you access to a child until I can confirm that you are who you say you are and that your papers are legal and official."

"Then I believe we are at an impasse," Dumbledore stated blandly.

"Indeed," the matron said tightly.

"Very well then, I didn't want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice." The Matron's eyes grew wide in fear and the tip of his wand appeared out of Dumbledore's robes. Suddenly the Matron stiffened and her eyes glazed over. "Sign the paperwork," Dumbledore commanded. As she reached for a pen to obey, Susan struck.

Albus had no idea how a ring tailed lemur came to be in that part of the forest, or why it seemed so intent on taking his papers. All he knew was that it would take too long to go back to the ministry for copies; the Granger girl had warned him that the boy had become aware of his plans and was making plans of his own. Thus, it was a desperate headmaster that chased into the forest after the lemur that had stolen his papers. He would have used his wand to catch it, but the dog had assumed it was a toy and had grabbed it soon after the lemur had grabbed the papers. With them running in opposite directions, Albus was forced to chase the lemur down the muggle way and hope the dog brought his wand back later.

As soon as Dumbledore disappeared out of his sight Neville changed back into his human form and went to help the Matron. Unfortunately, the only way to snap someone out of the Imperius was a six-week potion therapy or the death of the caster. Well, the caster could also end the spell, but Neville wasn't betting on that working out, since he didn't plan on returning Dumbledore's wand.

As Dumbledore ran through the woods, Daphne and Harry were having a discussion with a small girl with light brown hair and big brown eyes.

"Hi there," Daphne said with a smile. "Are you Katie Kent?" The little girl clutched her worn teddy bear a little more tightly but nodded all the same. "Hi Katie, my name's Daphne, and this is my friend Harry. We'd like to talk to you if that's alright?" The girl nodded and sat at a rickety table, Daphne and Harry sitting across from her.

Harry took that moment to examine her. She was small for her age and seemed shy, always curling in on herself when spoken to. Her hair was shoulder length but clean, and her dress had once been yellow before years of washes turned in a dull tan. Despite the grubby conditions, she seemed well cared for. Harry was optimistic about their chances, then.

"Are you taking me away," Katie asked quietly, startling Harry out of his observations.

"We'd like to," Harry replied, "but it's up to you."

"The man with a beard said he'd take me away to a magical castle. I want to go with him."

Daphne nodded understandably. "That's a great choice. My friend Harry and I actually live in the magical castle."

Instantly Katie's face lit up and she looked at them in awe. "You do?"

Harry smiled at her and nodded. "We do, and it's even more amazing than it sounds. The portraits on the walls actually talk to you, and one of the teachers turns into a cat, and the staircases _move_."

"Wow. Then he was telling the truth? The castle is real?"

"Oh yes," Harry said, nodding, "it's very real. But let me ask, Katie, did he say why he wanted to take you there?"

"He said that my family used to go there and the castle would talk to me," she said brightly, not noticing the dark looks her guests were giving each other.

"Well, Katie," Daphne began softly, "we wanted to warn you about the man. You see, he isn't a very nice man. The castle talking to you is actually real, and it's done through something called wards. But once you're linked, you can't tune them out. There will be voices and knowledge in your head all the time. I'm afraid that you're so young that the power and knowledge might overwhelm your brain and hurt you."

"So he's a bad man?" Harry and Daphne nodded. "But he said he would take me to a family. I've always wanted a real family," she said sadly, hugging her teddy bear tighter.

"Well, that's the thing, Katie. You see, Harry and I want to make you part of our family."

"But how do I know you don't want the same thing as the bad man?"

"Well, Harry's family used to go to the castle too, so he can already hear the wards. In fact, he's the one who put them up in the first place. So he doesn't need you for the wards at all."

"Oh. Well, who would I stay with?"

"Well, we thought you could stay with my parents," Daphne said with a smile. "They're very nice and have already raised two daughters. My younger sister Astoria is twelve. You could be my sister, too. Would you like that?" Katie nodded and Daphne beamed at her. "Okay little sister, I'm going to take out my wand and say a bunch of serious sounding stuff, but don't be afraid, alright?"

Katie nodded bravely and Daphne stood. "I, heiress of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Greengrass, do hereby proclaim Katie Kent a ward of the Greengrass family, to be given the same protections and status as all other members, hereby and forever more. So mote it be." A golden flash surrounded them before it dispersed.

With a whoop, Harry grabbed Katie and slung her over his shoulder and onto his back, eliciting a giggle from the excited girl. "Yay Katie, you're my sister now!"

"Are you a Greengrass too?"

"No, my name's Harry Potter, but can I tell you a secret?" Katie nodded and leaned closer to him. "One day I'm going to marry Daphne, and then I'll be your brother. But don't tell her that, yet, okay? I want it to be a surprise."

"Okay Harry, I won't tell. Is that the bad man," she asked, pointing at an enraged Dumbledore. Standing suddenly, Harry drew his wand and faced his opponent, trying desperately not to laugh. The man had twigs and leaves in his hair and beard, his glasses hung crookedly on his nose, and his bright blue robes were full of holes and chew marks. Both pieces of what used to be the elder wand were held in his hand, having been snapped by the dog at some point. Furthermore, the Matron had disappeared and the papers he'd collected were soggy and unreadable.

"What is going on here," he spat, fury radiating off of him in waves.

Harry held his ground. "Katie here has been named a ward of House Greengrass. Any attempt to contact her, control her, or even breathe near her will be met with the full power of the House of Greengrass, along with the Houses of Potter, Black, Peverell, Gryffindor, Slytherin, and Ravenclaw. Do I make myself clear?"

"That's impossible," he cried. "I've been granted her guardianship by the ministry!" He held up the soggy papers to make his point. Daphne stalked over and inspected them.

"Even if I could read them, you and I both know that the papers aren't official until the child has been signed over by her muggle guardian. I don't see a signature on here."

"I was just about to get it when you showed up!"

Daphne shrugged. "Too bad, headmaster. She's a ward of the House of Greengrass now and thus untouchable by you or anyone else." She turned her back on him and walked back towards Harry and her new sister.

"You did this," Dumbledore screamed madly, "You got the lemur to take my papers and took the Matron away!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Daphne said with a straight face, "but you'd better have evidence to back up your statements. The House of Greengrass doesn't take kindly to being falsely slandered."

Dumbledore was literally shaking with rage. "Give her back!"

"Headmaster," Harry interrupted, placing great emphasis on her name, "I'm confused as to why you are showing so much interest in this child. Yes, she's Hufflepuff's heir, but she couldn't be linked to the wards yet. They were overload her brain and kill her instantly, or leave her insane at the very least. Surely you know that?"

Dumbledore's guilt was written all over his face, but he said nothing.

"Well then, since you have no use of the child, there's no reason for you to be upset at losing custody of her. After all, now you'll have more time to a lot to your headmasterly duties, which I believe we'll be meeting about soon."

The headmaster nodded stiffly and turned to leave.

"Oh, and headmaster?" Harry waited to make eye contact before continuing, his voice hard. "This is your last warning. Go after me or one of my friends again and I'll destroy you. Painfully. Now," he said in a syrupy sweet voice, "if that's all, we'd like to go and get Katie settled in at home."

The headmaster scowled and stormed away, throwing the pieces of his wand into the woods on his way out. The sound of apparition signaled that he'd used his backup wand to depart. About three seconds later all four teens, two of whom were hiding in the woods, were laughing uproariously.

"That…was…awesome," Neville wheezed between laughs.

"Did you see his face when you snapped his wand," Susan squealed. "Oh, Harry, we'll have to pensieve it. It was priceless!"

"What's a pensieve," a little voice chirped, bringing them all back to reality.

"I'll tell you later Katie. For now, why don't we get you home?" They gathered her things and apparated to Greengrass Manor, waving goodbye to the smiling Matron. Evelyn had only had about three hours' notice of the situation, but she had already made up Katie's room and took great delight in showing her around it, cooing and fussing over the newest member of her family. Cyrus was right behind her, oohing and ahhing over all the toys and cracking jokes that had Katie in stiches. Harry and Daphne left soon after, confident that she would be well taken care of.

The next few days at Hogwarts were tense. Dumbledore glared at the four teens whenever he could, and the teens retaliated by telling stories of Katie and er new home within his hearing distance. The obvious chasm between the two forces created an awkward tension in the school that proved difficult to diffuse.

In the end, it was a book that did the trick, not because of its contents, but because the teens were too busy examining it to continue the petty feud between themselves and the headmaster.

The book in question had been sent by the Goblins and was a large, ancient tome. The tallow pages were crinkled and the binding was frayed, but the note accompanying the package assured Harry that he was indeed allowed to touch it as preservation charms had been liberally applied. It was the author that had the teens in awe. The book titled "Ancient Runes and their uses," was written by Merlin himself. Daphne in particular was in awe.

There ogling was interrupted by none other than the Gryffindor bookworm, who had seen the book delivered and approached them out of curiosity.

"What's that," she asked innocently. The four faces around her hardened and conversation immediately ended.

"Like we'd tell you," Daphne said in disgust.

"What did I do?!"

Harry stood at that and leaned in until their faces were an inch apart. "What did you do," he asked quietly, menacingly. "What did you _do_?! You handed over a little girl to a power hungry old man that wanted to exploit her heritage just to regain some control of the castle he's been using for his own ends. The wards, Hermione, he wanted to access the wards, which only a founder's heir could do," he growled, ignoring the dawning comprehension and horror in the girl's eyes.

"These same wards would have ripped her mind to shreds, the mind of a five year old girl, before killing her slowly and painfully. And when we tried to stop that from happening, you _told_! We trusted you, I trusted you! The Hermione I knew would have done the right thing and stuck by her friends. But no, you had to tell Dumbledore, of all people, because god forbid you deny the proper kowtowing to an authority figure. After all, no one in authority has ever misused their power! Gods, Hermione, do you even think for yourself anymore, or is Dumbledore doing that too?!"

"I thought I was helping," she sobbed, "I thought you were trying to use her, not Dumbledore!"

"Some friend," he said, looking at her in disgust. He turned to his real friends. "Come on guys, let's go. It's starting to smell in here, too close to the garbage probably." The four teens walked out of the Great Hall, ignoring the sobbing girl behind them who'd realized too late that she'd chosen the wrong side.

By the time they'd gotten back the Harry's rooms they'd worked off most of their rage and had turned their interest to their new book. "So, is it the same," Susan asked as Daphne compared the book to Godric's notes.

"Yup," Daphne responded with a grin.

With a whoop Harry quickly divided up the pages of notes between himself and his girlfriend and began the long process of translating the runes. Susan and Neville disappeared a few minutes after, presumably to visit some broom closets. Their friends were too engrossed in their project to notice.

* * *

A/N: Alright, I've got some bad news for you (but good for me!). I'm going on vacation out of country for a few weeks and thus wont have access to fanfiction. That means that my next post wont be until February. I apologize in advance and promise to make it up to you with a super amazing set of chapters upon my return. Again, I repeat, **don't expect an update until February**. Sorry folks, that's just the ways things are turning out. Until then, enjoy!


	22. First Fight

I'm back! Sorry for the wait, but I spent most of last month in Italy, which was just gorgeous! I miss it already! In regards to the story, a few of you posed some good questions.

What's with the matron? Why would she fight so hard with Dumbles but happily let a bunch of teens take the child? Well, I'm chalking that up to the aftermath of being Imperiused by Dumbledore, and then obliviated by him as well (which I forgot to mention last chapter). In short, she was confused from all the spell work and not "all there".

I've also gotten a lot of questions in regards to what happened to Harry's belongings at the Dursleys. These questions really confused me since I explained that in chapter 13. For all of you still confused, here's a recap: Harry enacts revenge (mostly verbal) on his "family" while Daphne grabs his stuff, and then they leave. Easy as pie!

On another note, I'm still looking for a Beta. If anyone is interested please send me a PM. Thanks to ILikeReading1 for your awesome idea regarding a pranking group and all your support!

Now, onto today's chapter!

* * *

Molly Weasley was enraged. Not angry, not furious, even, but completely and utterly enraged. Everything she had worked for in the past dozen years was falling down around her ears. First the Potter brat had discovered that they had been borrowing some of his funds. What did it matter, anyway? The whole fortune would be theirs in another couple years. Then, not only did he cut them off, but he sent the goblins after them! To the goblin nation thievery was more serious than murder and would be punished ruthlessly. Poor Bill had been let go from his job immediately, with not even a galleon to his name! They'd taken his whole savings account, leaving not even a sickle.

But it wasn't just Bill who was suffering, no, they'd drained all the Weasley's accounts. Charlie was safe since he was using the gnomes of Switzerland for his money since they were more abundant in Romania, but no one else was spared. Arthur and Molly's vault was emptied of coins and the material goods (few though there were) were sold off to the highest bitter. Heirlooms hundreds of years old had been sold as mere trinkets! Percy had finally pulled his head out of his arse and acknowledged that he had a family, but only long enough for him to complain about how his bank account had been emptied. Having little time for his fuss and not wanting Arthur to overhear, Molly had dismissed him hastily.

Slamming her fist at the table, she glared at the parchment in front of her. Her personal vaults, the secret ones that not even Dumbledore knew about, had been found and drained. She had been depending on the money to keep them afloat long enough to come up with a suitable explanation for Arthur. But even that had been taken from her. If it got much worse they would have to tell Arthur what had happened and pray he understood, or else they'd be out on the streets in no time.

Yes, she'd said _they_. Sure enough, that stupid son of hers had messed things up _again_. She'd sent him away to school with instructions to make up with his friend and meal ticket, and what does he do but openly attack him in front of professors?! And with Dumbledore actually being held accountable for his actions on the job he could do nothing more than stand by as her baby boy was expelled. Now he was sitting at home all day, wallowing in self-pity and complaining about the lack of snacks. Stupid boy, it was his fault they couldn't afford the snacks! His and that brat Potter's.

What had they done to him, anyway?! They gave him friends when he had none, kept the wrong sort from getting too close to him, and welcomed him in their home. Sure, they had helped themselves to a small portion of his inheritance, but with so much in his possession he wouldn't feel the loss at all. They needed it more, anyway.

Sighing in anger and frustration she yanked out a piece of parchment and began to write. She wouldn't take this anymore, it had gone too far. Molly Weasley wanted her piece of the pie and was going to get it, at any cost. And she knew just the man to get the job done.

-line break-

Things were going well, Harry thought to himself, almost too well. It had been six weeks since the beginning of school and almost four months since the DOM incident. In that time, they'd heard not one peep from NoNosemort or any of his followers. No death threats, visions, dreams, attacks, rumors, or anything of that sort. It was like they'd dropped off the face of the earth.

It was so different from usual that Harry had sought out Snape and asked what the hell was going on. Usually something would have happened by now! In response, Snape had informed him that most of the Death Eaters were too busy to cause panic, being either on the run from the much more effective ministry or trying to avoid their weak and violent master. Voldemort, he'd said, had been much more effected than he'd let on by the attempted possession and was too weak to do much more than lay around and order his remaining followers, and there were still plenty, to serve his every need.

Mollified for the moment, Harry had dropped the topic only to pick up another. The situation with the death eaters had been explained, but what about school? While assassination attempts didn't usually come until the end of spring term, something usually happened to either pit the students against him or cause him bodily harm in the fall semester. Proof: Quirrell, the chamber opening, Sirius's escape and attack on the dorms, the tournament, and Umbitch, among other things.

But this year, unlike the previous years, things were going really well. There were no teachers trying to kill him, no mythological beasts attacking students, and the students didn't all flee at the sight of him. In fact, the students were all nicer than ever. With the zero tolerance policy in effect, bullying had been cut down significantly and the leaders of such negative movements were kicked out of the castle (three more Slytherins and 1 Ravenclaw had been expelled, putting the total at 6 students gone). Without the constant threat of attack hanging over their heads and the knowledge that misdeeds would actually be punished, the students in the school were finally able to relax and the school atmosphere became much more peaceful.

Even the teachers seemed calmer and more relaxed. Harry had taken to dropping in on the weekly teacher meetings and checking up on everyone's progress. What he'd found had surprised him. The hostility he'd felt when he'd first taken charge had dissipated and been replaced with active support. Seeing the change the zero tolerance policy had effected, even Snape had come to openly agree with his suggestions at meetings.

In fact, the only one who seemed displeased was Dumbledore, but that was for another reason entirely. Following up on his threat, Harry had met with the headmaster a week after the incident over Katie to discuss school related matters. He'd been so enraged by what he found that he actually got up and left in order to prevent himself from cursing the old fool.

Everything was a mess. Instead of filing the paperwork and doing his job, Dumbledore had been pushing his duties off to other professors, especially McGonagall, in favor of playing puppet master. When the teachers either couldn't manage the extra work load or outright refused to do his job, the paperwork was either ignored or sloppily filled out in a half-ass attempt to get it done.

Budgets hadn't been balanced since his second year, applications were only working because McGonagall devoted her whole summer to getting them done, and the filing system simply involved tossing the paper in question into the nearest closet. It was, to reiterate, a mess.

Harry had listened to Dumbledore's attempts at placation and half-hearted excuses for five whole minutes before he'd had enough. Standing, he'd looked Dumbledore straight in the eye and said, "You get your house in order by the Holidays, Headmaster, or I'll find someone who can." Turning on his foot he'd left without uttering another word.

At the next teacher meeting he'd spent an hour going over proper procedures on filing budgets, progress reports, and all the other things that hadn't been getting done. The entire time Dumbledore had been silenced and tucked away in a corner so that Harry wouldn't snap and kill the old fool. He wasn't even the one who'd silenced him, either; Filius had.

Filius was quickly becoming Harry's favorite professor. Not only had he became the unofficial leader of the teacher's, gathering his occlumency group twice a week, but he'd gone out of his way to meet with Harry each week and provide reports and suggestions. Harry had come to rely on those meetings for most of his feedback on how things were going in his school.

Outside of school things were going just as well. Katie had quickly settled in at home and was smothered in affection by Cyrus and Evelyn, who'd been mourning over their "empty nest" for the past two years. Katie in turn was turning into a bright and adventurous young girl. Her favorite thing to do was to pick flowers in the garden and then send them off to her big brother and sisters. It had become the highlight of the teen's mornings to find half-dead flowers in their regular mail.

Over at the ministry things were more slow going but equally as productive. All the department heads had been forced to make loyalty oaths to the ministry, greatly cutting down on leaks and corruption. Her aurors, too, had all been "asked" to make the oath. Dumbledore had been furious when half his order, which consisted primarily of ministry workers, had gotten up and resigned at the last meeting. Remus, too, had resigned, growing annoyed at Dumbledore's obsessive focus on his honorary godson and lack of productivity in actually stopping the bad guys. He'd sent Harry a letter informing him of what was going on and was currently waiting for a reply.

The combination of accurate reporting from the Daily Prophet and the efficiency of the Ministry in combating their world's biggest threat saw the Wizarding population feel more at ease. This in turn led to an increase in shopping adventures, which Fred and George were delighting in. In short, business was booming! They'd been so swamped these past few weeks that they'd barely had time to work on their other projects for Amelia.

Stopping by for a visit one afternoon, Amelia had seen the shield hats at the twins shop and bought them all for her aurors. Seeing dollar signs, the twins had offered to start a whole new line of items specifically intended for aurors. Amelia had jumped on the bandwagon and had a contract with the ministry written up. In exchange for a significant amount of money, the twins would be producing shield hats, instant darkness powder, and much more for the ministry aurors over the next six months. Things were looking up.

Things were not great for all, though. Without Harry's backing and dampening of her aggressive nature, Hermione Granger had quickly become a social pariah, shunned by all her peers. Even her teachers weren't pleased with her, having seen her actions for what they were: a blind devotion to authority figures. Too late she was learning that such devotion was misplaced.

After Harry and his friends had told her off, she'd gone back through everything they'd told her and realized what a fool she'd been. She'd been so convinced that Dumbledore was infallible that she'd sacrificed her friendship to him, and now she was learning that he wasn't who she thought he was.

Angered by what she'd found and the way she was being treated, she placed the blame for her situation squarely on Dumbledore's shoulders and began researching him with an intensity that only she could muster. She'd betrayed her best friend and made herself a fool. The only way she knew how to make things right was to make sure that no one else made the same mistakes she did. And so she sat in the library day and night, researching. She'd lost her friendship, but she still had her mind and she was damn well going to use it.

-line break-

It was growing close to Halloween, a date that was never normal in Harry's world. It began when his parents were killed. Then first year there was the troll, second year the chamber opened, third year Sirius attacked the fat Lady, fourth year his name came out of the Goblet of Fire, and fifth year was Umbitch. With such an impressive list of occurrences, Harry was understandably anxious about the upcoming holiday.

Despite things going reasonably well lately, he simply knew that something was going to happen soon, which was why when Dobby shook Harry awake at two am on Friday, October 17th, he was packed and ready for anything within mere seconds of waking. Shaking Neville awake on his way to the bathroom, he held out five fingers, indicating there was to be an emergency meeting at the shrieking shack in five minutes. Nodding silently, Neville slipped out of bed and quickly began to get ready.

Harry and his friends absolutely loved the new wards. After some discussion, he'd set them like so: no one with the dark mark was allowed in except Snape, and whenever he entered the grounds Harry was alerted. No unregistered animagi were allowed, and again whenever one (registered or not) came through the wards Harry was notified. No portkeys were able to be brought through, nor were dark artifacts. Only approved house elves could enter or leave the grounds. All visitors were forced to wait at the gate until Harry had verified they were who they claimed to be (which the wards would quickly determine). Finally, and this was his favorite part, he could grant or withhold apparition abilities from anyone he chose. Currently, only he, Daphne, Susan, and Neville could apparate through the wards, but they were considering keying in some staff as well.

This lack of apparition ability made the shrieking shack an even better meeting place. Instead of wasting time apparating to Hogsmeade and then making the long trek to the castle, his allies could apparate to the same place and make the much shorter walk to the shack. Since it was also accessible through Hogwarts, both those inside and outside the wards could get there quickly in an emergency.

And indeed, by 2:05am the four teens were all in the tastefully decorated living room, crowded around a beaten and bloodied Severus Snape.

"What happened," Susan asked quickly as she cast several diagnostic charms on the exhausted professor.

"Nothing important," he replied tensely, batting away her wand. "I've endured much worse." Susan scowled at him, but, seeing as how his injuries were not life threatening, she retreated, merely handing him a pain potion which he looked at dubiously before shrugging and swallowing the whole thing. Grimacing from the taste he stood on two shaky feet and made his way to a nearby armchair.

"Slightly too much lionfish spine, but altogether a decent attempt at a pain potion. May I assume that the brewer was Ms. Bones?"

"Actually, sir, Dobby stole that from your stores just yesterday," Harry replied cheekily. He'd found that, when they were alone together or in small groups, he'd been able to get away with comments he wouldn't normally have around Snape. Indeed, Snape didn't even take house points, he just glared at Harry for a few moments before rolling his eyes.

"As I said, a perfect potion. Now, onto business. This past evening at approximately eleven thirty pm I was called to the Dark Lord's side for a meeting that I have been expecting. Draco Malfoy was not marked just for show. Inside Hogwarts he had a mission. This mission was twofold: to kill Albus Dumbledore, and to find a way to let death eaters infiltrate the school. When you took your titles, instituted new wards, and expelled Draco for attacking you, you messed with the Dark Lord's plans. As such, I was expecting a meeting soon to discuss alternative plans.

When I arrived at Malfoy Manor, the Dark Lord's current residence, I was unsurprised to find only members of the inner circle present. What was surprising was that young Draco stood next to his father, clean and the epitome of perfect health. Given the Dark Lord's proclivity to punish failure most harshly, I was immediately suspicious.

As the meeting dragged on, my suspicions were confirmed. Draco had managed to assure the Dark lord that his mission was not affected by his expulsion at all. He argued that he could still kill the Headmaster when he left the castle, and that his friends on the inside would continue with his development of a plan of infiltration. What worried me most was that there was no mention of _finding_ such a method, but merely of _perfecting_ it. I made what inquiries I could about it, but they are being irritatingly tight-lipped about the whole thing. All I was told was to keep your attention away from my sixth year Snakes."

"Daphne, have you heard anything about this?" The blonde shook her head and frowned.

"No, but then, when I openly supported you back in September it was made clear to me that I was considered a traitor and that my days were numbered." Harry looked at her in concern.

"You never mentioned this before. Are you safe there?"

Daphne simply rolled her eyes in response. "I didn't mention it because it wasn't a problem. Bigger threats than that have made their way towards me over the years and I've dealt with them all in kind." Here she gave an evil smirk. "Those three Slytherins expelled after Draco had somehow gotten it into their heads that I could be…persuaded…to join their cause. They were quickly dealt with. I was even kind enough to give them permanent reminders of why it wasn't a good idea to mess with me. Since the incident occurred in the common room the whole house received the message."

Harry nodded at that but still appeared unconvinced. "Alright, well, if you need anything let us know." Turning his attention back to his professor, he asked, "Do you know which students you're supposed to help?"

Snape nodded. "I am certain they include Pansy Parkinson, Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe. Any others I'm unsure about. I'm aware of the loyalties of Ms. Greengrass's friends Davis and Zabini, but Theodore Nott is a wild card as is Millicent Bulstrode. As to the other years, I'm certain all seventh years are loyal to the Dark Lord and half of fifth year as well, but the younger years are less open about such things. I believe most of them are taking the approach of 'wait and see'."

"If everything's going so well for their plans then why are you so…well, you know," Susan asked, gesturing to his bleeding forehead.

Snape grimaced in response. "When initially told the new plan, I made the mistake of pointing out that with the new wards in place and the zero tolerance policy in full effect it would be difficult to keep such suspicious activities under wraps. This," he gestured to his forehead, "was simply a reminder of what lay in store for those who failed their master or questioned his orders. I was rather irritated that he chose me to take his ire out upon when he had such good targets in the Malfoys, but they must had paid him off some."

"If it makes you feel better, the payoff must have bankrupted them or close to it. I dissolved Lucius' and Narcissa's marriage and demanded repayment of the dowry, so they only had about half their fortune left. That combined with the payoff to get out of Azkaban and to keep the ministry looking the other way, they must be running close to empty."

Here Snape gave a nasty grin. "Lucius must have forgotten to mention that to the Dark Lord last night. I'll be sure to remind him next time I'm called. He won't be pleased that his main source of income is drying up." Becoming more serious he turned to Harry and asked, "What would you have me do with the students? I have no proof they're doing anything wrong, but leaving them unchecked might put the school body in danger."

Harry thought for a few moments, then ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "With no proof they're doing anything wrong we can't do much but sit back and wait."

"That's not necessarily true," Neville added suddenly. Blushing a little as everyone turned to him, he held strong and met their eyes. "We know their target is the school. So far we have the upper hand. Why not turn the ambush right back on them?"

Understanding sparked in Daphne's eyes. "You mean booby trap the school. We could put little traps and tricks all over the place and as soon as they show up trigger them all. They'd be sitting ducks."

"That's all well and good," Susan began, "but we can't possibly cover the whole school. After all the place is huge! I still get lost and I've lived here for six years!"

"True," Harry replied, "but what if we found where they supposed to enter? We could concentrate the traps around that area and ensure that students were kept far from it. If we do it in a way that doesn't arouse suspicion then we could ensure the student's safety while using the DE's plans to our advantage."

Snape nodded agreeably. "That might just work, and I'm sure I can get the location out of the students. I'll simply ask which area to keep you away from and that will be our answer."

"What will we do for traps," Susan asked. "We can't have anything too harmful in case a student stumbled upon it, but we don't want to just annoy the DE's either."

"Much as I hate to admit it," Snape began, "you may want to call in those obnoxious twins that made such an exit last year. I hear they're supplying ministry aurors with defensive equipment. They may have something that can work for you as well."

Harry nodded and pulled a small journal out of his back pocket. Opening it to a certain page he pulled out a muggle pen and jotted down a quick note. On second thought, he scribbled that out and wrote something anew.

"I got a letter from Remus the other day," he said, seemingly at random.

"And what did the wolf have to say?"

"He informed me that he'd resigned from the order, as had half the other members. He said he could understand my problems with Dumbledore as he was beginning to have some of the same ones. He sent me his address in case I needed him for anything and offered up his assistance."

"Much as I dislike him, I must admit that Lupin was the brains of the Marauders while in school and would be an excellent asset to our side."

"The question is," Daphne added, "can we trust him?"

Harry shrugged. "I think we can, but I've asked Fred and George to check him out and get back to me. If the twins approve then we could move him here and set him to planning some mayhem for NoNosemort and his little flock of ducklings."

Snorting at the descriptive term, Snape moved to stand. "If that is all, I must be returning to the castle to report in with Dumbledore. I'll let him know what happened at the meeting but not that I've told you or that we've planned anything in retaliation."

Harry nodded and turned to look back at his notebook.

"Sir?" Snap turned to view one of his more likable snakes with interest. Much as he hated to admit it, Potter really had been good for her. He'd never seen her so alive.

"Yes?"

"Would you be willing to help with the traps?"

Snape's eyebrow rose in surprise. "Why do you ask? I am not a prankster, like your annoying twin friends, nor am I used to living with a pranking mutt, like Lupin."

"No, sir, but you're the youngest Potions Master ever and nothing short of a genius. With their pranks and your potions we could really deal the death eaters a huge blow."

He regarded her for a few moments before nodding slowly. "I shall think on it." With that he turned and left, his robes billowing out behind him impressively even as his stance wobbled slightly.

"Well, that was informative."

"Mmhmm." Daphne shared a look with Susan, who nodded and turned to Neville.

"Let's go check on Trevor."

"What? But, I just saw him-," an elbow in the gut forced him to reconsider. "Oof. On second thought, I think he might be getting sick. Best keep a close eye on him."

"An excellent idea." Susan hooked her arm through his and together they ambled off back towards the castle.

Alone at last, Daphne approached her boyfriend who was still looking over his journal with a look of concentration on his face.

"Harry?"

"Hmm?"

"Everything alright?"

"Hmm? Oh, yah. I'm just wondering why the journals didn't alert us that your year-mates had been making plans. They should have said at least one of the key words, maybe two."

"Maybe they put up silencing wards that interfered with the receiver."

"Yah, maybe," he responded, still looking down at him book.

"Harry?"

"Mm?"

"You're not really upset about that, are you?"

"What else would I be upset about?"

"Maybe that I didn't tell you what happened in my common room? Or that I was attacked?"

"Why would I need to know that? After all, you can take care of yourself. I'm just here for the show." Daphne rolled her eyes and yanked the annoying book out of his hands. Angry green eyes met hers.

"Hey!"

"Don't play games with me, Harry. You may be the boy-who-lived but I've been a slytherin my whole life and I'll run rings around you."

He scowled at her in response. "Fine. What do you want to hear? That I'm mad at you for not telling me that your life was in danger? That I thought you trusted me enough to tell me?"

"Is that what this is about? Trust?"

"Why don't you tell me? After all, it's been made quite clear that I don't know everything that's going on."

Blue eyes snapping, Daphne clenched her fists and stood. Bending so she was inches away from his face, she spoke. "I don't care if you are the bloody boy-who-lived, just because you're my boyfriend doesn't mean I have to tell you every little thing that happens in my life."

"Little? You call being attacked by your own house _little_?! You could have been _killed_!"

She scoffed. "They weren't that good, Potter, trust me."

"I wouldn't know, _Greengrass_ , now would I?"

"And why should you?!"

"Because I'm you're bloody boyfriend," he yelled, finally exploding. "I've told you _everything_ about my life, from the most embarrassing to the most frightening! I've trained with you, learned from you, made _love_ to you! You aren't just a _part_ of my life, Daph, you _are_ my life!" His voice suddenly broke and he looked away from her. "And now I find out that it's not the same for you. I've given you everything, but you're still holding back. And I have to wonder why that is," he finished quietly.

"Is that what you think this is about?" Her voice was much calmer now and held the soft tones that he'd grown to love. "You think I'm having doubts about us since I didn't tell you?"

"Why else would you keep it secret?"

He still wasn't looking at her so she grabbed his face in her hands and gently turned it until their eyes met. "Harry," she began gently, "I didn't keep it a secret. I simply didn't think it important enough to talk about. To be honest once they were gone I pretty much forgot about the whole thing."

"They could have killed you." The pain in his eyes made her heart ache. "I don't know if I could do this without you, Daph."

"Of course you couldn't, without me you're a right mess." This elicited a wobbly smile from her boyfriend and she took strength from that. "Harry, I've been attacked in Slytherin ever since I was in first year. The cold mask combined with the good looks led me to be alienated. Add that to the fact that I didn't openly support the dark lord and things were decidedly tense. I learned quickly that in order to be taken seriously and to dissuade future attackers I had to be tough. The first time a boy made advances on me I broke his nose. The second time, his whole face.

I didn't tell you about the fight last month not because I didn't trust you with that or because I didn't want to, but because I honestly didn't consider it significant. I've been fighting with my housemates since first year. It's just a part of life at this point. I've learned to deal with it and move on.

I'm sorry I didn't tell you about it, but I honestly didn't think to bring it up. It was just so commonplace, you know?"

"If it's so common place then we should get you out of there. Being attacked by your housemates shouldn't be considered just a part of everyday life."

"If that will make you feel better then fine, I'll move in with you. There are some things I just won't think to mention to you throughout the course of my life, but that doesn't mean I love you any less. You're my world, too, Harry. Don't you forget that."

"I won't." He kissed her hard, with passion and desperation, like he was reassuring himself that she was still there and she was still his. She kissed him back for all she was worth, trying to communicate her feelings with just her lips and tongue.

After a while they finally broke apart, both breathing heavily.

"I love you Daph."

"I love you too. Next time let's just ask each other what's going on before we assume anything, alright?"

"I don't know," he replied cheekily. "If it gets me that kind of response every time I just may assume any and everything."

She swatted him on the arm but still smiled. "Come on," she said, grabbing him by the hand. "Let's make sure Susan and Neville don't end up waking up in one of those broom closets. Poor Neville has enough problems as it is."

"Yes dear."

"Good boy, I've trained you well."


	23. Potion or Poison?

Hey guys! So this one's a little short and a total cliff hanger, (cue evil laugh), but I promise I'll make it up to you! Thanks for the feedback and advice. Also, good news: I've found a beta! Edited chapters should begin to appear within the week and continue from there. Now, on to the show!

* * *

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was no mere building. Hundreds of years' worth of magic had seeped into its very walls, cumulating into so much ambient energy that the very land it stood on was undetectable to muggles. But magic, too, is no mere concept. It is a force, a sentient one at that. How else could magic bless a union or decry a peoples? Yes, magic was alive, and so, too, was the castle.

It hadn't started out that way, of course. It had begun as simple stone and wood brought from the nearby hills and forests. Man himself had built it up and created its purpose. But all that magic and energy had seeped into the stones, and slowly, over the years, Hogwarts castle gained a magic all of its own.

The simple things came first, like awareness of its location and purpose. Next came understanding of life and death. Slowly it grew to understand love, and it poured its love into the very wizards it was built to house and protect. It understood magic and nonmagics and the hatred between the races, and it watched in sadness as its students were destroyed by bigotry and hatred. For Hogwarts understood, but could not act.

You see, the patchwork of wards put up and pulled down by various headmasters throughout the years had limited Hogwarts' abilities. Some depended on its ambient energy for use, which weakened the sentient being that so wanted to act. Others anchored it in place, tugged it one way or another, or even drew power from the castle into the greediest of wizards. Pulled in so many directions and struggling to keep things from collapsing, Hogwarts had been imprisoned in itself for nearly three hundred years.

But this was no longer the case. Its heir, one of its precious students, had broken free of the bindings that were so cruelly placed upon him and then had done the same for Hogwarts. It was free now, free of the restricting wards. For it powered them, yes, but so too did he and the other students. And since it worked with Hogwarts and not against it, Hogwarts now had the ability to act as it had not before.

But it was tired, so tired, and recovering from hundreds of years of trauma heaped upon it. It would take time to heal, just as the magical beings residing within its halls needed time when they too were injured. But time it had, and slowly, but surely, Hogwarts was awakening.

-line break-

Harry was awoken by the distinct ping of the wards that only he could hear. A restricted substance, in this case a potion, had just passed through the wards to the east and was making its way to the castle. Shrugging it off as a healing potion for Madam Pomphrey Harry brushed it from his mind and turned to thoughts of the day.

It was Saturday, and Saturdays were his favorite day. Each one started with a run around the lake with him and his three friends. From there they moved either to the ROR or the shrieking shack, for dueling practice. This went until noon, when the friends would eat lunch and then split.

Neville typically spent his afternoons in the greenhouses, helping Professor Sprout with the latest seedlings and experimenting with his own little patch of soil she'd lent him.

Susan would retire to her room to write a letter to her aunt and then spend her remaining time either helping Madam Pomphrey in the infirmary or getting a jump on that week's assignments in the library.

Daphne always went to check in on her friends Tracey and Blaise and to make an appearance in her common room. Today that appearance was being cut short by the process of moving all her things into Harry's rooms. She'd leave enough to get by on in her dorm room just in case anyone asked where she'd gone, but since she'd alerted her head of house to her new housing situation, she wasn't too worried. Snape had actually approved of her actions, though he didn't say so outwardly. Still, his lack of resistance was a clear sign that he approved. Say what you want about the man, but he really did care about his snakes and ultimately he knew it was safer for her with Harry than surrounded by those who hated his, and consequently her guts.

Harry split his day up into sections. After lunch he'd join the professors in their meeting room for tea and a chat. Filius and McGonagall always made sure to stop by, but he'd gotten closer to others as well, including Sprout and Poppy. Around 2 he would head over to the Owlery to check on Hedwig. If no one was around, he would also call Dobby in for a chat.

Dobby had proved a godsend, always anticipating Harry and his friends' needs and acting accordingly. He also managed the journal entries, checking for any updates or alarming info. On top of that he took constant messages between all the members of the alliance, kept the shrieking shack and Harry's rooms clean and tidy, and knitted socks, hats, and other articles for little Katie, who absolutely adored the devoted little elf.

After Harry had caught up with Dobby and passed on any things he needed done, he headed back to the castle to continue work on Godric's runic puzzle, as he'd likened it. So far he and Daphne had managed to translate over half of the notes, which were mostly research and early calculations chronicling something to do with wards. The purpose hadn't been made entirely clear, and Godric had only jotted down bits and pieces of his thoughts, but it looked to be important. Harry could only hope that he wasn't wasting his time on something as insignificant as a new fire ward or something equally as dull.

When he'd grown frustrated with the runes he would head down to dinner, which he ate at the Ravenclaw table beside Luna. Luna was an odd one for sure, but she was also keenly intelligent and picked up things that not everybody saw. He'd found her odd but charming ways were beginning to grow on him. It seemed that the same thing was happening with her housemates as well. With bullies like Cho being punished severely, the rest of the house had backed off to give Luna her space. With her gaining Harry's favor, others were at least treating her decently in order to avoid her wrath. The last he'd checked Luna had made three genuine friends in her house that had been too scared or weirded out to approach her before.

Finally, the fearsome foursome (Harry winced every time he heard that name) would reconvene in his rooms after dinner to simply chat and hang out like the teens they were. There was also quite a bit of snogging done then. Oh yes, Saturdays were definitely Harry's favorite day.

His daydreams about the coming day pushed his awareness of other things out of his consciousness, so it took him several minutes to realize that something was wrong. The potion he'd noted earlier had not gone to the infirmary as he'd suspected, but to the headmaster's office. That couldn't be good. Spitting out his toothpaste Harry grimaced and began to put on his shoes. That old goat lover had better not do anything to ruin his perfect day.

Severus Snape was not a morning person. In fact, most people weren't sure he was a person at all. Some had guessed vampire, bat, vampire bat, etc., but none had been proven correct. Even his fellow colleagues knew better than to speak to him before he'd had at least two cups of coffee. Which was why he was completely and utterly ready to commit murder when someone knocked on his door at seven in the morning on a bloody Saturday. Seeing Potter there only strengthened that urge.

"Potter, you have ten seconds to explain to me why you felt the need to wake me at seven on a bloody Saturday. Afterwards I'm afraid Ms. Greengrass will need to find a new boyfriend." His threatening words did little to change the boy's expression of worry, which set alarm bells ringing in his mind.

"Can I come in," Harry asked quietly, looking over his shoulder worriedly. "It won't take long."

Shaking the fog from his head Snape nodded and stepped aside. Making his way over to the fireplace he sent an order to the kitchens for a tea service and took a seat by the fire. It must have been important what the boy had to say as he hadn't even commented on Snape's darkly decorated living space.

Getting straight to the point, Harry asked his professor, "Did you send out for a potion for the headmaster?"

Dark eyebrows drew together in confusion before springing up in concern. "No," Snape began slowly, "But you're question reminds me of my conversation with the man last night. When I returned to the castle I immediately went to the Headmasters office to report, as I always do. We discussed the news that students may be preparing for an attack from the inside, but agreed there was nothing we could do but keep an eye on them. That was unsurprising, but before I left the headmaster asked me something that might interest you. He asked if I had any amortentia on hand."

"Amortentia? The love potion? The highly _illegal_ love potion?"

"The one and the same. I replied truthfully that I did not, not did I have the time to make any. I was dismissed soon after and so tired that I gave it little thought afterwards. Since you're here I'm assuming that something has happened?"

Harry nodded grimly. "The wards notified me to a restricted potion entering the grounds this morning. At first I assumed it was for the infirmary, but after a while I realized that it had gone right to the headmaster's office."

"That is," Snape paused for a moment, "alarming. Not only is the potion itself incredibly illegal, but it is also difficult to make. One wrong move and the potion turns into a poison, which is one of the reasons why it's so restricted. Over 85% of brewers tend to make the poison rather than the viable potion. If the Headmaster has managed to get his hands on some, the odds are most certainly not in your favor."

"Is there any chance it's not Amortentia that was delivered?"

"Without seeing the potion itself I can't be sure, but it would be too much a coincidence not to be. As far as I know the Headmaster is not taking any medication, and if he were to be he would almost certainly be receiving it from Poppy. No, the most likely conclusion is that he owled out for some Amortentia after I left his presence last night."

"That's what I was afraid of, though I never guessed he would stoop to using dangerous and illegal love potions on minors."

"With his previous track record I can honestly say I'm not surprised."

Harry sighed. "Any ideas on what to do about it?" Snape stood and walked over to a nearby cabinet, pulling a small black stone from the top shelf.

"For now you have no proof that he's done anything wrong and to accuse him otherwise would be foolish. You may have eliminated some of his support but it's not yet gone entirely." Snape handed him the stone and took a seat once more. "Until you can get to the potion in question or he makes a move, your best option is to watch and wait. I'm sure you recognize what you hold in your hands."

"It's a bezoar, sir, used to neutralize potions in the body."

"Correct. Keep it on you at all times and check everything you eat and drink for contaminants. Meanwhile I will begin to brew the antidote. Hopefully we'll be able to end the effects as quickly as they start and catch the culprit or culprits red handed."

Harry nodded and stood. "Thank you for your time, sir. I'm having Dobby keep an eye on the map in regards to your problematic snakes, but if you hear anything let me know."

"Very well Mr. Potter. Good luck."

"Thank you sir." He exited the dark but tasteful room and began the long trek back to his rooms. Why did this stuff always have to happen to him?!

-line break-

It only took a few hours before Dobby popped in with a report.

"Master Potions sir says to tell Master Harry Potter sir that the bad bad Snakeys is wanting to spend lots of time in the seventh floor corridor by the dancing troll painting, sir."

Daphne set the dumbbells that she was holding back onto the rack and wiped her hands on a nearby towel. Sipping from her water bottle on the way, she made her way over to Harry's bag and pulled out the Marauders map. What she saw made her instantly alert.

"Oh shit, guys, they're all headed here right now!"

"Now," Neville asked incredulously, pausing in his run around the track so helpfully provided by the Room of Requirement.

"Yes, right now. They're already on the 3rd floor."

Susan, who had just finished showering in a back stall, popped her head out, towel still wrapped around her wet hair.

"Does that mean what I think it does?"

"Yah, we need to beat it, and fast."

"Best get Harry out of the shower then. I'll get dressed."

"There's no time, just throw a towel on and move it." Nodded, Susan disappeared back into the stall only to reappear moments later covered in only a towel.

Meanwhile, Daphne headed to the other side of the room and yanked aside the shower curtain, startling a surprise yelp from Harry who hadn't been expecting the rush of cold air.

"Daph, what's-"

"There's no time, Pansy and the bookends are on their way here right now. Last I checked they had cleared the third floor. Now may be our best chance to find out what they're up to, but that means we have to be out of here." Without waiting for the message to permeate his brain she had yanked him out of the water and thrown a towel at him.

That was how at nine am on a Saturday the seventh floor hallway came to be covered in wet footprints and a soap trail from the shampoo flying off Harry's head. Just as they rounded the corner, Daphne absently casting a drying charm behind them, they heard Pansy and the two goons coming up the stairs. Cramming into Harry's room they stopped to gather their bearings.

Calling for Dobby, Harry asked the elf to bring some as Susan's clothes up before running to the nearest sink and sticking his head under it. Just three minutes later all four teens were dry, dressed, and ready to go.

Peeking her head around the corner, Susan signaled for the group to move forwards cautiously. "I don't see any lookouts, they must figure that everyone's either at breakfast or has better things to do on a Saturday than hang around in a musty old corridor."

Creeping closer, they stopped in front of the blank stretch of wall and paced three times, thinking of finding the room the other teens had entered. Shockingly, when they'd finished and looked up, the wall was still blank!

"Crap, it must only work for one person at a time," Neville muttered.

"How are we supposed to spy on them, then," Susan asked worriedly.

"Harry, use your rings," Daphne said quickly. He looked at her dubiously.

"You think that'll work?"

"There's only one way to find out."

Shrugging, he turned and held the three founder's rings to the wall. "As Lord Hogwarts, I command you allow entry to my friends and I." Holding their breath, the group waited in anticipation, staring at the still bare wall. Just as they were about to give up, a door suddenly appeared in front of them.

"Holy crap, it actually worked." Daphne too looked surprised at her success but didn't comment.

"How are we supposed to go in unseen?" Harry pulled his cloak out of his pocket in response and grinned.

"I'll go in first and see if the coast is clear. If it is then I'll tap twice on the door." Disappearing under his cloak, he opened the door and slipped inside.

The room he was looking at was huge and filled with junk. He saw things from books to furniture to jewelry and much more. Seeing no one around, he knocked twice on the door and removed his cloak.

"This is where my father and I found the diadem," Daphne whispered once she entered the room. "I asked Dobby what it was later. He said it's the room of lost things. Everything that gets lost in the castle eventually ends up here."

"There must be hundreds of years' worth of junk here," Neville said. "How will we find them in it?"

Rolling her eyes, Susan held out her wand and said, "Point me Pansy Parkinson". Mentally berating themselves for not thinking of that sooner, the group quietly followed after her. Several minutes later they heard voices in the distance.

Pausing in their journey, Harry signaled for them to group up. Heads bent together, he addressed the team. "Alright, the goal here is surveillance only. We don't want to spook them just yet. That being said, it's best to remain unseen. Susan, Daphne, your animagus forms are the smallest. Try to get as close as you can without being seen. There's enough cover here where it shouldn't be a problem.

Nev, our forms are too big for such a cramped and clustered area. Our best bet is to silence ourselves and creep closer. Disillusion yourself, I'll be under my cloak. Keep a lookout for the bookends, I only hear one of them right now. If you hear anything or run into trouble send up a signal. We can always obliviate them later. As soon as we hear what we need we'll get out of here. Agreed?" He received three nods in response. "Alright then, let's do this."

Within seconds a lemur and an owl were quickly making their way closer to the voices in the distance. Soon afterwards Harry and Neville disappeared from sight, Harry taking a ten second head start so that he and Neville wouldn't collide.

Mere minutes later, Harry crouched down behind a full length mirror and peered around the corner. Examining the scene before him, he quickly noted that a soft gray owl was peeking over a nearby stack of chairs and a ring tailed lemur was crouched under a fake Christmas tree. A hand on his shoulder announced Neville's presence behind him. Assured that everyone was alright, he turned his attention to the two Slytherin's present.

"You stupid oaf, you've ruined it again," a shrill voice called out. Pansy, suddenly coming into view, grabbed Crabbe's wand out of his hands and smacked him over the head with it. Shrinking away, Crabbe looked down dejectedly but didn't argue with the pug-faced girl.

"Sorry," he muttered.

"Save your apologies for someone who cares. If we don't get this finished by winter break the Dark Lord will skin us alive!" She went out of view once more, and Harry realized that she was pacing. "How hard can it be to repair a bloody cabinet anyway?!"

 _A cabinet? Why would the Dark Lord want them to prepare a cabinet?_ Nearby, he could sense Neville stepping out to his right and peering around the corner, trying to get a peek at the mystery cabinet.

"Where's that blasted book full of restorative charms?"

"Greg had it last."

"Ugh, you're both imbeciles. Go find the oaf and bring him back, _with the book_. Try not to make too much of a mess on your way." Dismissed, Crabbe walked away in Harry's direction. Visually bumping into something, Crabbe jerked to a stop and peered at what seemed to be empty space.

Frozen at the movement, Neville stood right in front of him, praying he was still invisible. After ten seconds of consideration, during which Neville didn't dare breathe, Crabbe shook his head suddenly and wandered off, mumbling under his breath about how he was going round the bend. Sighing in relief, Neville made his way back over to Harry, who he'd found with a point-me spell, and squeezed his shoulder once more. Feeling Harry nod, he made his way back towards the corridor.

Five minutes later the four teens were once more assembled in Harry's rooms, discussing what they'd seen.

"So we know their target now," Neville summarized, "but we don't know why they want it. Daph, you ever come across magical cabinets in your reading?"

The blonde shook her head in the negative. "No, but I might be able to find something in the library." Her eyes were already shining at the possibility of such an excursion.

"Alright, then," Harry said, "Daph, you're in charge of research. Find any and everything you can about magical cabinets and why old no-nose would want one. Sue, have you written to your aunt yet?" When she shook her head, he added, "Alright, see if you can convince her to come to the Shack tonight for a meeting. She might have some ideas."

"You might want to invite Ragnok, too. The goblins may know what the cabinet does."

"Gran might, too."

"Alright, sounds as though we might as well call a full blown meeting. After what I learned from Snape this morning it couldn't hurt." The others nodded somberly. They'd reacted poorly to the news that the headmaster had acquired Amortentia and had been on edge all morning. Any one of them could be the intended target of the potion, which could make you say and do anything for the person it was keyed to. They had too much at stake to let a simple potion ruin their plans. "I've sent out for some more bezoars. They should get here by dinnertime. Until then, check everything you eat and drink at least twice."

"Have you heard back from the twins," Susan asked, changing the subject to a more positive one. "It'd be nice to have around, not to mention they'd be great at helping with the ambush."

"True," Harry responded, "and yes, I have. They said they'd close the shop early this afternoon and thoroughly check Lupin out. I'll let them know to bring him along tonight if they approve. He, too, could be a big help, especially since he was the creator of the Marauder's map. Maybe we could get him to design something similar for our purposes."

"Plus I'd love to examine the charms behind such an ingenious artifact," Daphne chipped in. Nev and Sue exchanged looks with Harry and rolled their eyes. Their friend's love of knowledge knew no bounds.

"Of course you would, dear," Harry said amusedly. She sent him a stern glare that did nothing to dispel his amusement.

"Right then, until tonight there's not much we can do. Keep your eyes and ears open and try to always stay with a buddy. I'll contact everyone about the meeting tonight at, let's say ten o'clock. Sound good? Alright, have a nice day."

The four teens then split to go about their normal routines. Harry deviated in his slightly by heading to the owlery first and sending out a short message to Cyrus, who was in the best position to contact everyone for that night's meeting. Keeping it brief in case it was intercepted, Harry was soon making his way back to his rooms to continue his work on the runic puzzle.

Three hours later Hedwig interrupted his work to deliver a reply from Cyrus, who confirmed that everyone would be there that night. Nodding confidently, Harry sent out a message through the journals and went back to the puzzle, calling Dobby for a quick bite to eat. He was making real progress with the puzzle and a sense of anticipation was building up. Tucked behind the back page of notes was a brief note written in ancient Celtic. From what he could ascertain, it explained the whole purpose behind all of Godric's notes. Unfortunately, Harry lacked the reference material to interpret the rest of the page. He'd set Daphne on it after she was finished researching the cabinet.

Sighing in momentary defeat, he sat back in his chair and reached for his butterbeer. Sipping it absently, he failed to notice the slight fizzing at the top of the bottle or the way it sparkled pink in the right light. Seconds later, he clutched his stomach and screamed in pain. Shortly afterwards he dropped to the floor, unconscious. Dumbledore had finally struck.


	24. The Key

A/N: Hey guys, thanks for all the support and kind words. I'm feeling much better and passed my exams, so yay! Here's a nice long chapter for you. Let me know what you think of it. Thanks!

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Chapter 24- The Key

All across Hogwarts people were disappearing. Some went quietly, others didn't. Susan and Neville vanished from a broom closet still dressed only in their underclothes. Professor Snape was mid-lecture when he suddenly vanished, a bewildered look on his face and information about Polyjuice still rolling from his mouth. In her infirmary Madam Pomphrey was having a simple cup of tea when suddenly it crashed to the floor. A student with a bloody nose later walked in to find the tea cleaned up and the witch gone. As they'd just watched their potions master disappear, they immediately ran to get the headmaster.

Meanwhile, in a room on the seventh floor, people were appearing in a small room where a beautiful blonde girl knelt over the form of her boyfriend, begging him to wake up. It took them all awhile to readjust. Susan and Neville immediately blushed, Pomphrey screamed, and Snape whipped out his wand, a curse ready on his lips. Upon taking in the situation, though, they all changed. Snape suddenly swore and reached for a bezoar, stepping around Poppy, who was running diagnostic scans on her favorite students. Susan and Neville looked for the source of the problem, immediately spotting the fizzing butterbeer. Neville immediately headed to the floo to call Amelia while Susan addressed the problem.

"Dobby," Susan snapped, correctly assuming it was he who had grabbed them, "who brought this to Harry?"

Dobby appeared in front of her, wringing his hands nervously. "I is not knowing Mistress Susan, but it is not being me. I was cleaning Master Harry Potter's rooms when Master's Daffy be calling. Dobby did as he was told and brought everyone right away. Dobby does not know what he would do without his Master Harry Potter sir," he said, his eyes filling with tears.

Ignoring the elf's hysterics, Susan then turned to her potions Professor. "How is he, professor?"

"He's been poisoned, that's all I know at the moment. It was likely an improperly brewed Amortentia potion. I've given him a bezoar, but without knowing how long ago he ingested the poison I can't say how well it will work. Perhaps Ms. Greengrass could fill us in in what happened and I can make a better estimation." Turning to Daphne, he was shocked to find his normally stoic student overtaken with worry.

"I'm not sure, really," she began, her voice trembling. "I was in the ROR practicing my blasting spells when I got this weird feeling, like something wasn't right. Suddenly I was overwhelmed by panic but it was gone just as quick. I don't know if you know this, but Harry and I can sense each other's feelings. It's a by-product of the Occlumency training, we think." Snape nodded, having heard of this phenomena before. "Anyway, I figured the panic must have been from him, so I got here as fast as I could and found him unresponsive. I called for Dobby right away and he in turn brought you all here."

"Then by my estimations the potion was in his system only a short while before the bezoar was introduced. That should greatly enhance his chances."

"Only enhance," Neville asked?

Snape nodded grimly. "The bezoar absorbs the poison, but he'll also need an antidote. Unfortunately it takes a week to brew and I only started mine last night."

"To Gringotts then?"

"Don't be ridiculous, I can floo for a vial of antidote from St. Mungos straight from my office," Madam Pomphrey exclaimed, finally joining the conversation.

"Absolutely not," Daphne said firmly. "He's not staying where that old coot can get at him, especially since his latest stunt is probably what brought us here."

"What do you-"

"Please, Madam Pomphrey, we understand this is confusing to you and that you're curious, but time is of the essence here. We need to get Harry to Gringotts immediately. In your opinion, can he safely be moved?"

"Well, yes, but-"

"Then let's move him," Daphne said firmly, cutting off the witch. Reaching for his arm, she prepared for apparition. "I'm taking him to the bank, you guys got things from here?"

Susan nodded and soon afterwards Harry and Daphne vanished.

"I assume you've called your aunt," Snape said silkily. Neville nodded apparated out to the gates. While he and the others could apparate through the wards, Amelia and her aurors couldn't so he'd have to let them in.

"I'd best return to classes before Albus begins an inquiry. Feel free to contact me if I'm needed."

"What about her," Susan asked, using her chin to point towards Madam Pomphrey.

"I'll take care of her, one way or another." His look told Susan than an obliviate might make its way towards the Hogwarts's Matron soon.

"Try to get her on our side first if you can."

"I shall do my best." With that he swept out, tugging the confused mediwitch along with him.

Susan snorted as they left then turned back to the incriminating glass of butterbeer. "Oh Harry," she sighed, "Why does this always happen to you?"

-line break-

Within the bowels of Gringotts, a tidal wave of sound was making its way towards the surface. The goblins were angry and the world was about to know it. To attack one of their own was horrible. To poison him with a love potion, something that takes away your free will and enslaves you for what could be the rest of your life, that was unforgivable. The goblins were not just angry, they were furious.

-line break-

"What happened," Ragnok barked. He'd been sitting in his office going over his weekly reports when the buzz of noise had attracted his attention. Calling for the nearest guard, he asked what the hubbub was about, only to find that Harry had appeared in the infirmary moments before, unconscious. Rumor had it that love potions were involved.

When he heard that Ragnok had actually growled, a low, animalistic growl. Goblins mated for life and that bonding was sacred. To use a love potion on someone threatened this sanctity. Only one love potion had been used on a goblin in the entire history of the race, and the offending party had had his entire family executed before he underwent a most painful death. That day an entire line had gone extinct. That it was goblin royalty punished so severely simply added to the threat. After that day love potions were never found within a goblin establishment, not even for research purposes.

Jumping out of his seat, Ragnok used a secret passage behind his bookcase to make his way quickly to the infirmary. There he found his young friend comatose and his brother Doc hovering over him worriedly. Ragnok knew better then to interrupt him so instead went to comfort the young Greengrass girl, another honorary goblin.

Upon seeing him, the normally conserved girl threw her arms around him in a desperate hug. He could feel her trembling and quietly signaled for a calming drought to be brought to him. Once she'd ingested it, Daphne sat back calmly and Ragnok felt it okay to proceed.

"What happened," he asked bluntly.

Taking a deep breath, Daphne schooled her features and retold the tale. "I was training in the ROR on the seventh floor when I sensed Harry's emotions go from curiosity to panic. What could only have been seconds later I entered his rooms to find him on the floor, unconscious. Dobby brought Sue, Nev, Snape, and Madam Pomphrey there immediately. They quickly deduced that Harry had been poisoned. Snape shoved a bezoar down his throat and I brought him here."

"I've heard rumors love potions were involved. Is that not the case?"

"Actually, we think the poison was a poor attempt at Amortentia. Just this morning Harry had detected a restricted potion entering the wards and being delivered to the headmaster. He immediately went to talk to Snape, who knew nothing of the potion. However, he said that last night the headmaster had inquired as to if he had any amortentia. He didn't, but thought this was too coincidental not to be connected."

"Indeed. Do we know how the poison was administered?"

"In his butterbeer. Dobby said he didn't bring it to him so it must have been another elf. I didn't stick around to find out which, though."

"Understandable. Have you heard from the healers yet?"

"No, they haven't finished treating him yet and I haven't wanted to interrupt." As if answering her prayers, the goblin healer suddenly broke away from Harry and came to speak to them.

"Ms. Greengrass, I presume?"

"Please, call me Daphne."

"Very well Daphne, I am Doc, a healer here with Gringotts. We've just finished with the first round of treatments for your young friend, here."

"First round," Ragnok asked, at the same time Daphne asked, "Will he be alright?"

Doc chuckled and held his hands up in surrender. "Patience, ladies." Ragnok scowled at that but quieted down. "Young Harry is going to be fine. However, it's going to be a few days before he's in any sort of shape to leave."

"What happened," Daphne asked. "Surely the bezoar would have neutralized the poison? And in that case he would have been fine within a few hours."

Doc nodded. "That is the case for a poison, yes. However, young Harry was not poisoned." Holding up his hands to put off their exclamations, Doc continued his explanation. "Amortentia, as we've proved we're dealing with here, is a difficult brew to make. Approximately 80% of the time, the brew becomes poison and not potion. Such is the case with inexperienced brewers. Curiously enough, the potion fed to Harry was brewed correctly."

"But then wouldn't the bezoar have worked on that too? And why was his reaction so violent?"

"You are correct in that the bezoar would have worked, but a bezoar neutralizes an entire potion or poison affecting the body. We believe that Harry's reaction was caused by certain individual ingredients within the potion and not the overall potion itself. In that case, a bezoar would have had no effect."

"Certain potions ingredients," he continued, "must be prepared and stored in very specific ways in order to prevent decay and contamination. In most cases, if the ingredients are spoiled, the potion brewing fails. Either it won't congeal or won't mix, it all depends on the ingredient. However, in certain cases, the ingredients, despite being tainted, mix together to create what seems to be a perfect potion. Everything seems fine, except when a person takes it, whatever is tainting those ingredients reacts in the body to cause a violent reaction. Simply put, the body realizes that there's something wrong and tries to expel it. Unfortunately for Harry, he was unable to do so.

In the rare cases where this occurs, typically the tainted ingredient simply creates discomfort. However, certain ingredients are volatile when prepared incorrectly. In this case they break down in the body and harm certain areas. This is complicated by the fact that the treatment for one such ingredient often conflicts with the treatment for another. In Harry we've detected three tainted ingredients wreaking havoc in his body. We've begun a treatment for the moonstone, but the rose thorns and ashwinder eggs will have to wait until the moonstone has been purged from his body.

It will be a long and most likely painful process, but Harry should be fully recovered within three days."

Hearing that, both Daphne and Ragnok breathed a sigh of relief.

"We'll continue to monitor his vitals but for the next twelve hours all we can do is wait and let Harry's body do the work. You are, of course, welcome to stay. I believe Ironfist is in the training room down the hall if you feel the need for company, though be warned, he seems to have taken a sudden interest in pranking curses. It seems he feels the need for redemption." Cracking a smile at that, Daphne thanked the doctor and went over to check on her boyfriend, leaving the two goblin brothers alone.

"You seem more maudlin that usual," Ragnok commented to his normally cheery brother.

With a serious expression, Doc responded, "We were lucky. We knew what potion was involved and an apprentice had been studying it just the other day. It was he who suggested that the ingredients were tainted, having read about it recently in a potions journal. Without that we wouldn't have had a clue what to do, and young Harry would be dead by dusk. As it was, the treatment needs to be started within fifteen minutes of ingestion. We got lucky, Rags, very lucky."

Ragnok nodded. "I shall see what I can do, then, to pass that luck on. Of course, this time around it won't exactly be _good_ luck." The two goblins shared a feral smile before parting ways.

-line break-

Amelia had been going over the ministry finances, trying once more to straighten out the mess that Fudge had created, when Neville had flood her, telling her in no uncertain terms to get her butt to Hogwarts right away.

Upon arrival, she had the rather unpleasant experience of being side along apparated straight up to Harry's rooms, which were empty save for her niece and a very distraught house elf.

"What's going on?"

"Harry was poisoned, we think with Amortentia that was improperly brewed. Daphne took him to the goblins a few minutes ago and we haven't heard anything since. I sniffed the butterbeer, though," she said, pointing to the bottle, "and it doesn't smell right. Dobby says he doesn't know who brought it, either."

Snapping into auror mode, Amelia set about preserving the scene. Calling for her favorite potions expert, she had him called in and there in under ten minutes. Meanwhile, she charged Dobby with speaking to the other elves to see if one of them had brought the butterbeer in.

"Well, Jenkins?" Her longtime friend and potions expert looked up from the bottle with a grimace.

"Definitely Amortentia, though something's not quite right with it. I'd have to do a more thorough examination to tell you what."

"Can you tell who it's keyed to?"

"I can try." He turned back to the bottle and began muttering charms over it. As Susan and Amelia watched on, a long, orange hair slowly came free from the bottle. "I'll have to take this back to my lab to connect it to an actual person."

"No need," Susan said grimly. "There's only two red-headed witches at Hogwarts, and I'm one of them. That only leaves one name: Ginny Weasley."

-line break-

While the investigation continued at Hogwarts, the ministry was slowly breaking into pandemonium. Derek Dirks, head of the Goblin Liaison offices, had just received a very angry, very threatening missive from the head of the Goblins himself. In it, it said in no uncertain terms that if the current situation wasn't dealt with immediately and harshly, Gringotts would be closing its doors.

Dirks situation was made impossibly harder because the situation referenced in the missive hadn't reached his ears yet. He'd heard of no incident concerning an injured goblin, but apparently that didn't matter, as his sources confirmed that the goblins were indeed preparing to close- permanently. The effects would be catastrophic, and that was quite possibly an understatement.

After chasing down various leads and rumors, Dirks was finally forced to admit defeat. With no good news to report, he rushed to the Minister's office, only to find that she had been called out on an emergency.

That was how Derek Dirks found himself puffing through Hogwarts, a crumpled piece of parchment in his sweaty hands, as he ran in circles, desperately trying to find the minister. After ten minutes, he sighed in relief as he spotted someone that could help.

"Headmaster! Headmaster, I need your help!"

-line break-

As soon as that hair came out of the bottle Amelia knew they had won. They'd been waiting for Dumbledore and the female Weasley's to slip up, and this was the key. Molly couldn't have brewed something as difficult as Amortentia, nor could her daughter, but if she'd owled Dumbledore for help, he could get his hands on some. No, they were all knee deep in this. If she played her cards right, they could bring the three of them down in one blow.

"Shacklebolt," Amelia snapped, calling over the lead auror present, "Find Ms. Weasley and bring her here. And under no circumstances is that meddlesome old fool to know of any of this. Understood?" She eyed him with a stern eye until he nodded his understanding, then dismissed him.

Ten minutes later, a handcuffed Ginny Weasley was dragged into the room, kicking and screaming. "What is this about? You've no right! Let me go!"

"Ms. Weasley," Amelia began, "do you recognize this?" She held up the bottle of butterbeer. The red head looked at it in confusion and shook her head. Hm, well, perhaps the girl hadn't aided in its delivery, but she was definitely involved. "No? What about this?" She held up a baggie with one long orange hair inside.

"That's one of my hairs. Why do you have it?"

"It was found in this bottle of butterbeer, along with an illegal love potion." At that all of the blood drained out of Ginny's face. "A love potion," Amelia continued, "that has put Mr. Potter in the hospital."

Ginny's eyes widened. "The hospital?! Is he all right?"

"I'm afraid we don't know just yet, but it wasn't looking too good."

"I don't understand," the girl said, panicked, "it wasn't supposed to hurt him, just make him recognize his feelings for me."

"Feelings for you," Susan snapped. "The only feeling Harry has for you is disgust!"

"That's not true," Ginny snarled. "He loves me! He's just been seduced by that Slytherin bint!" Daphne's friends bristled at the name but made no move to attack the obviously delusional girl.

"So you just trying to save him," Amelia said consolingly, giving Susan a warning glance when Susan made to interrupt.

"Exactly," Ginny said, continuing with her partially true defense. She loved parts of him at least, like his fame and money. That was enough for now. "I never wanted to hurt him." No, that was Voldemort's job.

"And so you wrote to your mother asking for her help," Amelia continued.

"She wrote to Dumbledore," Ginny added, unknowingly confirming her mother's and headmaster's involvement. "He said he'd take care of it. She sent him the hair and told me to be prepared. So I was. But I didn't attack him, I swear." It seemed that she'd finally realized the extent of the situation. Attacking a Most Ancient and Noble House was a death sentence.

"Did you ever actually see the potion?"

"No, Dumbledore took care of all that. He said he didn't want me to see it, something about plausible deniability."

"But you knew there was going to be an attempt at line theft and you did nothing?"

"Line theft," Ginny squeaked, paling even further. If there was one thing purebloods took seriously, it was their family lines. If charges of line theft were leveled, the Weasley's would be ruined. Absolutely no one would have sympathy for them then.

"Yes Ms. Weasley, line theft. I think we've heard enough for now. Shacklebolt, bring her in. Roberts, fetch her mother from the Burrow. Put them both in ministry holding cells. Don't allow them any contact with the outside just yet. I'll need to pick aurors that aren't associated with either side to interrogate them. Everything about this needs to be by the book." With that Ginny was led away, now sobbing violently. Her plans had finally backfired right into her face and her dreams of wealth and fame were at an end. It was a hard reality to face.

"Susan, did anyone other than Harry touch that bottle?"

"Yes. I picked it up to sniff it and Jenkins picked it up to analyze it. Other than that there was no one."

"Alright, good. I'll need both your fingerprints, then, along with Mr. Potter's. Hopefully we'll find another set on there."

"Dobby is hearing the Mistress Minister ma'am. Dobby is doing as you asked and talking to the elves." Here he scowled. "Dobby is finding the bad elf that hurt Dobby's master. Dobby is bringing him to you."

A second elf appeared next to Dobby, this one with scared yellow eyes. Amelia quickly cast a diagnostic spell on it, finding several compulsion charms linked to the Headmaster. She noted her results in a notebook and began to question the elf.

"What's your name?"

"I is Tinksy, Mistress."

"Hello Tinksy. Did you bring Harry Potter a butterbeer earlier?"

"Yes Mistress."

"Did you put a potion into it?" Tinksy's eyes widened even further.

"No Mistress! Tinsky not be putting anything in the bottle. Tinsky just be bringing the bottle from the Headmaster to Mister Potter. Tinsky would never hurt nobody."

A quick spell showed the elf was telling the truth.

"Thank you Tinksy. You may go." Tinksy nodded and popped out.

"Dobby, have you heard from Harry at all?"

"Dobby has not, but Dobby can be checking on him for you."

"Thanks Dobby." Once again the three of them found themselves alone in Harry's rooms.

"What next," Neville asked.

"I found myself wondering the same thing," a grandfatherly voice answered. Cringing, they turned to see the Headmaster standing in the doorway next to a very sweaty man. "Perhaps you can explain what's going on, and why exactly you are in my school without my permission?"

-line break-

Harry had stabilized slightly as soon as the healers began their treatment, but from the grimace on his face Daphne knew he was still in a lot of pain.

"Hang in there Harry," she whispered from her position next to his bed. The goblins had provided her with a comfortable chair and some reading material, but she'd not had the heart to look through it yet.

Truthfully she blamed herself for the attack. She'd been just down the hallway after all, and if she'd been thinking more clearly she would have realized how bad an idea it was for Harry to be alone after everything they'd heard from Snape. Gosh she'd been so stupid. And then she'd totally freaked out.

She'd seen Harry unconscious a thousand times before, but for some reason it had really hit her hard today. She liked to think she didn't know why, but she did. Staring down at the grimacing form of her lover, she'd realized just how much he'd meant to her. Yes she loved him, she had for a while, but she'd not realized how much she'd come to depend on him. His short quips that could always make her laugh, his lopsided smile that warmed her heart. He wasn't just a part of her life anymore, he _was_ her life, and she was his. Seeing him lying there, she'd realized that she couldn't lose him and survive.

That was what had scared her. The vulnerability that came with depending on someone else was a feeling she hadn't experience for a long time. Since she was eight it had always been her. Since the beginning of the summer, almost two years ago in their time, it had been her and Harry but she'd still held back, always prepared to retreat back into herself. But now she knew that she was gone, so far gone that it was terrifying. She loved him more than life itself, and for a Slytherin, that was a dangerous feeling to have.

Dangerous, but exhilarating.

A pop startled her out of her thoughts. Turning, she saw Dobby peering up at his Master, tears in his eyes. She hastened to reassure him that everything would be fine, filling him in on all that the doctors had said. In return, he told her what had been going on in the castle. She was not surprised to hear that the potion had been keyed to Ginny Weasley or that Dumbledore was involved. When Dobby asked why not, she explained the information they'd gathered from Snape. Glancing back at her boyfriend, she missed the determined look on the elf's face.

"Does Mistress Daffy be needing anything?"

"No thank you Dobby, but I'll call for you if I do."

"Very well." With a pop Dobby disappeared, only to reappear in the Hogwarts' library with a stack of papers.

She-who-knits had been searching for dirt on Dumbledore but was hitting a brick wall. The man hid his secrets well. Not well enough though, Dobby thought with a grin. He left the papers where she would find them and popped away. No one hurt his master and got away with it!

-line break-

Severus Snape was not a stupid man. In fact, he was rather the opposite. He had to be, really, what with being a spy and all. He knew that Albus would get wind of what had happened that morning. He also knew that the man wasn't nearly as light as he made himself out to be, and that he could be vicious if you stood between him and his goals. Albus Dumbledore was a man used to winning. When backed into a corner, the congenial grandfather took a back seat and Albus showed his animalistic side.

No, he certainly wasn't a stupid man. He knew the implications of today's events. Albus had worked so hard at getting the boy back under his thumb and back onto the path he'd planned for him that he'd finally slipped. Albus Dumbledore had made a mistake, and it was enough to be his downfall. Line theft was a serious charge, and once the public knew what had happened to their savior at the hands of the leader of the Light, Albus would be as good as dead.

For Severus Snape, that presented several challenges. Sure, he wanted the old man gone, but he knew him well enough to know that if he went down, he would make sure to drag as many others down with him as possible. And Albus Dumbledore had a lot of dirt on Severus Snape. True he was on the right side, but that didn't mean that he hadn't done terrible things, not all for the 'dark' side, either.

This fact combined with the fact that Albus' trial was sure to be very public had Snape very worried. He'd only recently solidified his position with Potter and his ilk, and he wasn't sure how far they would go to save him. Yes, they'd shook hands and made nice, but Severus was a Slytherin by heart and he knew that words were just as easily taken back as they were given. No, he needed something to not only establish his breaking from Dumbledore, but to permanent his allegiance to this new, winning side in the war.

A plan of action in mind, Severus Snape set off to do what he did best: get some information. When he left Potter's rooms, he headed directly to his private office, bypassing his suspiciously empty classroom, and got down to work. Placing every single privacy charm he could think of around the room, he reached into a pot on the mantle and drew out a handful of floo powder. He'd chosen his side in the war. It was time to show his devotion to it.

-line break-

 _Shit_. That was the first thought that went through Amelia's mind when she saw the headmaster standing in the doorway. She'd hoped for more time before having to make this confrontation. Politically, the situation was currently very delicate.

Though his support had diminished, Albus Dumbledore was still a very powerful man with very powerful friends. While her friends were even more so, it wasn't always going to be a one on one match. No, the public was going to decide this trial. If she chose to arrest Dumbledore, which she had enough suspicion to do, she could potentially be committing political suicide. If the public sided with him on this, she was completely and utterly screwed. If she won, though, her popularity would skyrocket and she would be in a much better position to fix the ministry.

Her question was, should she take the gamble, or should she lie through her teeth until she had more evidence. She certainly had reasonable suspicion, but right now the evidence was hearsay or circumstantial. She could hope to find more while he was being processed, but if she didn't…

Either way, she had to make a choice and she had to make one quick. Her heart beat one, two, three times. Glancing at her niece and her boyfriend, she took comfort from their assurance in her. They seemed to be putting the situation in her hands. Then, almost imperceptibly, Neville nodded, and Amelia made her choice.

"Albus Dumbledore, you're under arrest for attempted line theft, attempted murder, and possession of an illegal love potion. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say may be used as evidence in your trial. You may contact representation once you've reached ministry holding. If you can't afford it, it will be provided for you. These are your rights as declared by the Wizengamot, the Ministry, and Magic itself."

Quickly, before Dumbledore caught up with the situation (currently he was simply standing in the doorway, gaping at Amelia like a limp fish), Neville quickly disarmed him and Amelia put him in magic restraining shackles.

That seemed to snap Dumbledore out of his trance, as he suddenly began to sputter his protests. "What- but- wait- you don't have the authority. Hogwarts is independent from the ministry!"

"Unless it's invited in to investigate crimes within its walls. I assure you, I was invited," she said wryly, shooting an aggrieved glance at a blushing Neville.

"What no- but- you have no proof!"

"We have enough. Aurors, take him." Her auror backup had finally arrived and, after sending a questioning look at Amelia, who glared sharply back, they quickly escorted an arguing Dumbledore off the grounds.

Turning to the exhausted and bewildered ministry worker, she held out her hand for the memo. Upon reading it she sighed in frustration.

"What's that?"

"It's a missive from the goblins saying that if we don't take immediate and deliberate action against those who attacked one of their own, they're going to shut the doors of the bank."

There was a few moment pause as the severity of the situation sank in. "Well then," Susan suddenly chirped, "it's a good thing you arrested the old coot!"

Amelia couldn't quite stop the smile from breaking out on her face. "Indeed it is." Turning to Dirks, she said, "Thank you, you may go now." The man nodded and made a hasty retreat.

"None of this is going to matter if we can't actually convict the _old_ coot," Neville said, parroting Susan's words.

"He's right," Amelia sighed, "and at this point we don't have any solid evidence."

At that Tinksy popped in, looking scared but determined. "Tinksy be hearing what the bad bad headmaster made Tinksy do. Tinksy be wanting to help so Tinksy be telling mistress Minister that the potions vial that held the bad kissy potion is still in the headmaster's office."

"Can you take us there?"

"Tinksy can be doing this, yes." Soon the group of three, plus one elf, appeared in the headmaster's office. Seeing them, Fawkes trilled gently and swiveled his head to look at the desk drawer. Looking inside, Amelia breathed a sigh of relief.

"What is it Aunt Amelia?"

Amelia held up the empty potions vial labelled _Amortentia_ for them to see. "Proof. Enough proof if we play our cards right."

"You may not have to," a deep voice said from the doorway. Jumping, the three turned to find an amused Severus Snape standing in the doorway.

"Snape," Amelia breathed, "you scared the daylights out of us."

"My apologies, but I thought you might want to know that I've contacted a friend of mine. You see, he makes a living selling seedier potions and their ingredients in knockturn alley. Upon inquiring, he informed me that he did indeed receive a request for Amortentia this morning. In fact, he still has the letter outlining the request. In exchange for overlooking his chosen profession, he'll gladly supply the document and testify that he did indeed make the potion."

"Forgive me for saying so, but that sounds too good to be true."

"Oh, it gets better," he said with a smirk. After letting the suspense build, he delivered his coup de grace. "The letter is signed by one Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore."

-line break-

When Amelia stopped by the bank later to deliver the good news, and to assure the goblins that they were doing everything they could and that closing the bank wouldn't be necessary, she found that Harry was finally awake. Still in quite a bit of pain, he welcomed the distraction with relief and listened intently as Daphne peppered their friend with questions.

"Yes, Ginny's been arrested and is telling all. She hoping her cooperation with see her receiving a reduced sentence. Given that the minimum would be life in prison, it's a small hope, but we may have neglected to mention that.

Molly Weasley is also telling all. We arrested her in the middle of family dinner. By the lack of a fight the rest of them put up, we're assuming that Mr. Weasley had been suspicious of his wife for some time. Young Ronald did lose his temper and take a swing at an auror, but before we could do anything Arthur had smacked his son a good one and was giving him a right talking to. I've never been so pleased with the man.

Their trial date has been set for the 20th of October, that's two days from now, at 11am. Dumbledore's will be the day after at the same time."

"How's he taking things?"

"Better than I'd expected. I think he thinks that he can still squirm out of this. He'll be sorely disappointed."

"Serves the bastard right."

"Indeed. Now, Harry, I've brought your rune puzzle for you in case you get bored. I'm going to need to borrow Daphne for a bit to get her official statement. We'll need to go to the ministry for that. I'm hoping we won't be gone more than an hour."

With a quick kiss goodbye, one from Amelia on his check and one from Daphne on his lips, the two girls disappeared and Harry was left alone with his work. Reaching for his papers he occluded more strongly to block out the pain and continued his work.

When Daphne returned an hour later Harry was staring at the paper in awe.

"Harry? Love? What is it?"

Looking up at her, Harry grinned. "It's the key," he said simply.

"The key to what?"

"The key to winning the war."


	25. Trials and Tribulations

A/N: Thanks for all your feedback, I really appreciate it! (Except for people who keep complaining about the cliches- like guys, just read the description at the beginning. It says there will be lots of lichces. And I mean lots.) Anyway, here's the new chapter! R&R!

* * *

Chapter 25: Trials and Tribulations

"I now call this session to order," Madam Marchbanks said with a bang of her gavel. Sometimes Harry found the similarities between muggles and wizards utterly amusing. They had no electricity, but they copied something as insignificant as a gavel? If he weren't so focused he probably would have laughed. "First on the docket are Molly and Ginevra Weasley, both facing charges of attempted line theft. Ladies, how do you plead?"

Her gaze turned to the two red heads sitting in the middle of the court room, metal cuffs keeping them in their chairs. Examining them, she couldn't help but wonder how they were related. They certainly presented two vastly different images. One was the picture of defiance, her head held up high, her nostrils flared. The aurors had had to silence her because she hadn't stopped yelling insults since she'd been arrested. They'd cancelled it to allow her to shout "Not guilty" and then had quickly reapplied it.

The other was the picture of defeat. The younger one, Ginevra, she noted, sat slumped in her chair with her head hung. She didn't even look up when the trial had begun. Madam Marchbanks didn't need to look too hard to figure what her plea would be. Indeed, just seconds later she mumbled, barely audibly, "guilty".

Marchbanks nodded and made a note on her case file. "Noted. We'll begin in order of arrest. Ginevra Weasley, you are called upon by the courts to testify about your crimes. Sitting in the witness chair signifies the acceptance of an oath of honesty. If we discover you to be lying there will be penalties." The girl nodded her head and took the seat, her eyes downcast the whole time. "The prosecution may begin."

Nodding, Amelia stood and approached the stand, completely ignoring Molly, who'd had a two-way silencing spell erected around her so she could neither hear nor be heard. She'd anticipated a little more fight from the youngest Weasley, but wasn't exactly upset by the change of plans. It would make her day much easier.

"State your name for the court."

"Ginevra Weasley."

"Ms. Weasley, could you please describe the events of the 18th, starting with the auror fetching you from class?"

And so she began, her voice small, telling the tale of all that had happened that disastrous day, and the events that had led up to that. Some things that came to light even surprised Amelia.

"You planned to kill him?"

"No," she said in the familiar monotone she'd fallen into using, "that was You-Know-Who's job. I was just supposed to marry him and get pregnant before that happened so that the money would come to us."

"And by us you mean?"

"My family."

"Were all of your family aware of this?"

"My brother Ron and I have known our whole lives. My Mother is the one who put the plan together. Percy discovered our plans and threatened to go to the aurors so mum obliviated him. She didn't do a very good job, though, because he hasn't been home since."

"None of your other family members knew?"

"No, it was just us."

"You said before that the plans were your mother's. Was she alone in making these plans?"

"No."

"Who else was involved, then?"

"Albus Dumbledore." Her response caused a ripple of noise to spread around the court, but not as much as Amelia had expected. Apparently most people believed the Daily Prophet's accusations against Dumbledore. Harry hadn't known that the story had leaked, but all facts published had been true, so he couldn't complain much. Besides, it may end up helping them in the long run. The article certainly hadn't painted Dumbledore in a pretty light.

"What was he responsible for in all of this?"

"He made himself Harry's magical guardian so we could gain access to the Potter vaults. He sent Harry to his relative's home so that he would be beaten down and grateful to Dumbledore for getting him out of there and for us for being kind to him. He arranged for us to run into him on the Platform first year. He set up dangerous situations at Hogwarts to draw out You-Know-Who. He arranged for the love potion when he lost control."

"And you were aware of all this?"

"We all were, the three of us, that is." That statement pretty much sealed her fate. Not even Amelia could find pity for her after that.

"And did you know this was illegal?"

Her head dropped even lower. "Yes."

"This has little bearing on the case, but I believe the court would like to know just _why_ you did what you did."

She shrugged. "It was easy. He was so grateful for even the little things and so easy to take advantage of. He was also rich, and our family was really poor. I grew up knowing that I would marry Harry Potter, and that he would die. It was just how things were."

A streak of pity sliced through Amelia but she pushed it aside. She had broken the law and deserved to be punished.

"Very well. I have no more questions for the defendant."

"Aurors, return Ms. Weasley to her chair and bring forth the Senior Weasley," Marchbanks ordered. They did so and soon Molly was on the stand.

"I may live to regret this, but aurors, please lift the silencing spells on the defendant." Hesitantly, _very_ hesitantly, the auror lifted the spell, cringing back as the screaming became audible.

"-DON'T NOTHING WRONG I TELL YOU! JUST ASK DUMBLEDORE, HE'LL TELL YOU WE'RE INNOCCENT!"

"Mrs. Weasley!" Madam Marchbanks looked incredibly offended at the behavior in her courtroom. "Either silence yourself or we will do so for you. In such a case we'll be sentencing you and your daughter without your testimony." That shut her up, her mouth closing with an audible click. "Excellent. Amelia, you may proceed."

"Mrs. Weasley, you just stated quite vigorously that you were innocent of all charges." Molly nodded. "What do you think of your daughter," Amelia asked out of the blue. "Is she an honest girl? Trustworthy?"

"Of course," Molly beamed. "Ginny's a good girl, always honest and kind."

"And, in your opinion, would she lie on the stand?"

Molly looked offended. "Of course not! She's a good girl. It's that Potter boy that's the liar!"

Ignoring the last comment, Amelia struck. "So, according to you, we should believe your daughters testimony. But this poses a problem. You see, Ms. Weasley testified that you knew of the crimes against Mr. Potter and in several cases were the perpetrator of such crimes. So you see, either you're lying, or she is. And if you say that she should be believed…well, that doesn't bode well for you, now does it?"

Molly paled and stuttered for several minutes before backtracking quickly. "Did I, well I, you see…she is a good girl, she really is, but sometimes she gets confused, you see. She'll read something and thinks it's real, for example. Nothing wrong with that, it's completely normal."

"Of course. However, all of her claims were supported by the evidence." Amelia pointed to a large stack of papers and vials, amongst other objects, that she'd collected throughout her investigation. "Yours, however, are not."

She held up a piece of parchment. "For example, these accounting statements show that you've been involved in theft of Mr. Potter's inheritance ever since the death of his parents." She held up another few pieces of parchment. "These letters of correspondence between you and Albus Dumbledore also reveal your involvement and knowledge of all crimes being perpetrated. Especially," she grabbed the empty potions vial, "this last one, which occurred shortly after you wrote Dumbledore for help.

Molly looked panicked at the amount of evidence against her. That her own daughter testified against her only made matters worse. There was no way she was getting out of this cleanly, but maybe she could lessen her sentence a bit.

"It was all his idea," she blurted out desperately. "The theft, the potions, all of it!"

"The person you're referring to is Albus Dumbledore?"

Molly nodded vigorously. "It was his idea to pair Ginny and Harry up. He's the one who got the potions and initial access to his vaults."

"You said potions, as in plural?"

"Yes. There were loyalty ones for Ron in the beginning, to help them become friends, and for Ginny, too, during his second year. But we weaned him off those carefully so he would continue the friendships on his own! We hadn't given him anything since third year! But then he met that slytherin bint," she spat, "and everyone began to fall apart. He took the money back, money that we didn't have, and took up his stations, which we didn't know about, honest! He was out of control, so I owled Dumbledore for help. He was going dark! He never would have done this to my family before he met those Slytherins!"

Molly was trying to make herself look the victim, but her prejudices were slipping out for all to see and painting an ugly picture of the woman and her family.

"You were aware that your actions were illegal?"

"Well, yes, but I was just doing what any good mother would do. We needed that money, and he had plenty to spare. I was just being a good mother and looking out for my kids!"

"You say you were looking out for your family, but several other members of your family came forwards during the investigation and not only claimed they were unaware of your actions, but also condoned them as unnecessary and cruel."

"Was that the twins," she snapped, "because they were always causing trouble! You can't believe a word they say!"

"Actually, it was your husband Arthur and eldest son Bill." Molly looked absolutely shocked by that.

"They, they did?" Amelia nodded. "Well," Molly continued, sounded a little unsure, "Arthur never did have a good grasp of finances, and Bill-"

"-has a steady job and income, despite growing up without funds stolen from an orphan," Amelia cut in coldly.

Apparently Molly had run out of excuses, since she just sat there, gaping like a fish. Amelia took that as a sign to end her questions.

"Very well," Madam Marchbanks began, "The court has now heard the evidence and will vote. On the charges against Ginevra Weasley, all those who vote guilty?" Eighty percent of the judging panel lifting their wands. "Those who vote innocent?" Half a dozen wands went up. In the audience, Daphne took note of who those wands belonged to.

"The court finds Ginevra Weasley guilty of her charges. In accordance with wizarding law, and taking into account Ms. Weasley's status as a minor, the court sentences her to fifteen years in the low security sector of Azkaban prison. Upon release she will have her magic bound for another five years or until such a time as she is deemed responsible to use her gift by the courts." A bang of the gavel had aurors bringing the now sobbing girl out of the room.

"Moving to the charges against Molly Weasley, all those who vote guilty?" Ninety five percent of the wands went up. "Innocent?" No wands were raised. "Very well. In accordance with wizarding laws and taking into account the seriousness of the charges, this court sentences the defendant the life in Azkaban. We'll adjourn tomorrow to hear evidence in the case against Albus Dumbledore." Another bang of the gavel signified the end of the trial. Molly was led out of the court room, her head held high but tears leaking down her face. In the audience, her husband of thirty years had similar tears falling down his face.

After congratulating Amelia on her win, Daphne headed out towards the public floos. She wanted to head back to Gringotts to give Harry the news. He was doing better now, with all three agents neutralized, but was still rather weak and tired easily. He'd wanted to be there today, but the doctor had told him that if he did so he would be in bed the next three days, and Harry wanted to attend Dumbledore's trial even more. Resigning himself to another day in bed, Harry had sent Daphne to attend the Weasley's trial in his stead.

Just before she reached the fireplace, someone calling her name caused her to pause. Turning, she saw Mr. Weasley, his eyes red but dry, and his eldest son looking at her pleadingly. "Could we have just a moment of your time?" Ignoring the whispers around her, and the exciting murmurs of the reporters, Daphne slowly nodded and stepped towards them. She figured they'd want to speak privately, and was thus surprised when Arthur began his apology right there in the lobby.

"Ms. Greengrass, I know that by now my words probably mean nothing to you, but I had to say something. I just, there aren't enough words to express how sorry I am that Mol- he choked on the name, my wife said such horrible things about you and Harry. I'll be contacting him with a more formal statement, but could you please let him know how sorry I am? And that no matter what Molly did, I still consider him family and should he ever need me, I'd be glad to help him however I can. Please?" His voice broke at that, and he turned to his son and pulled him into a hug.

Daphne's heart broke at the sight and she had to reinforce her occlumency barriers to prevent her eyes from watering. She'd known something like this would occur and had planned to simply brush it off and leave it to Harry for later, but now she found herself wanting to ease their pain. Taking a deep breath, she stepped forward and put her hand on his shoulder. Arthur turned at the movement and looked at her in confusion.

"I can't offer forgiveness, because it's not mine to give," she said softly. The man's face fell but he nodded. "However, I like to think that I know Harry pretty well, sometimes too well, in fact," she said with a wry smile. "It took him a long time to learn that he wasn't responsible for other people's actions, and some days he still has to work at it." She looked the man in the eye. "You didn't know, Mr. Weasley. You treated Harry out of the goodness of your heart. And while your wife and youngest children broke him down, his friends, your twins included, helped build him up. I think the question you need to ask yourself is not if Harry can forgive you, but if you can forgive yourself. And when you do, we'll be there. We're always there for our family."

Arthur wiped his eyes and squeezed her should in thanks. Turning, he stood tall and headed toward the floo. "Thank you," his son said feelingly, before he too disappeared in a whoosh of flames. Deciding she'd had enough emotional outbursts today, Daphne quickly followed them into the flames, eager to see her boyfriend.

-line break-

Harry was bored. Like, really bored. After the excitement about his discovery had died down, he'd found himself oft alone and lacking anything to do. A pile of quidditch magazines sat beside his bed, but he'd read them already. Daphne had spent most of the morning with him, but she'd left for the trials hours ago. Ragnok was busy, as was Griphook. Susan and Neville were back at school and keeping an eye on things. The twins were attending the trial in support of their father. Amelia and Augusta were there as well. So that left Harry alone with his thoughts, which were super boring.

At first he tried to nap, but he'd slept all night and was well rested. Next he turned to his discovery, but he'd already set the goblins on finding the ingredients he'd need. For now all they could do was wait. After that he tried to read, but his attention wavered after twenty minutes. Finally admitting defeat, he sat up in frustration and ran a hand through his hair.

"Is the poor human growing tired with his cushy life," a snarky voice asked from the entryway. Looking up, Harry found himself grinning. Ironfist had come to visit.

"You honor me, great teacher," Harry said respectfully in Gobbledygook, wandlessly changing the Goblin's hair to a bright pink.

"How insulting," the goblin responded, casting a colorless spell at his former student. Unbeknownst to him, Harry's eyebrows started to grow, slowly at first until they covered his entire forehead.

"I try," Harry quipped, casting a spell that would only allow the goblin to walk through a doorway backwards.

"You always were a failure," the goblin said nonchalantly, animating the eyebrows to start dueling each other for space. He also cast a spell that would make Harry squawk like a chicken whenever a house elf appeared.

"What can I say? It's the human in me." Harry gave up the pretense of secrecy and sent a bright pink spell towards his mentor, who dodged it easily.

"You've gotten sloppy," Ironfist said with a feral smile. "You know what happens to those who get sloppy."

When Daphne arrived a few hours later she came upon the scene of what could only have been a well and true prank war. Harry's eyebrows had detached from his face, grow several feet, and then had been used to bins him to the bed. His skin was pink with purple stripes, he seemed only capable of speaking backwards, and for some reason he kept going cross eyed.

On the other side of the room, Daphne found the instigator of the war. Ironfist was dressed in a muggle ball gown, complete with chest. On his shoes were glass slippers that kept flashing different colors. His hair had been grown out down to his ankles and charmed pink. It reminded Daphne of several muggle fairy tales that Harry had told her about, especially the fact that the goblins legs had been replaced with fins, like those found on a mermaid.

Hiding her amusement, she put her hands on her hips and scowled at the two men. Both took a break from staring at each other (though Harry was having a hard time with it due to being cross eyed) to give her large, innocent smiles. At that she lost her fight and began to laugh uproariously. Ragnok, hearing the sound while walking by, popped in to check on things and soon began to laugh with her. He'd never seen his best trainer so thoroughly…feminized. He secretly promised himself to save this memory in his pensieve for later viewings.

After laughing for several minutes, and sneaking several pictures on her muggle camera that had been a gift from Harry, Daphne took pity on the menfolk and began to undo the curses. Twenty minutes later she was growing frustrated. Both boys had somehow changed the spells to not react to a simple finite but instead to a password, and neither of them were able to tell her what they were. When she asked Ironfist he began to hiccup, and when she asked Harry he began to dance the Macarena (which was very difficult to do while one's eyebrows tied them to the bed).

Ragnok, having seen the situation for what it was, had called for a curse breaker from above. The man who showed was dressed in black robes that matched his tied back hair. He moved with a cat-like grace, and when he smiled at Daphne his large canines came into view. She hadn't known that Gringotts employed vampires.

"Ms. Greengrass, I'd like to introduce you to Stephan, our best curse breaker, currently on loan from our South American branch. If anyone can undo this mess, it's him."

Steeling herself, Daphne stuck out her hand. Stephan grabbed it with gentle fingers and gave it a chilling kiss. Since his heart didn't beat his lips were freezing cold.

"Pleased to meet you," the man purred. From his bed, Harry narrowed his crossed eyes and began to squirm.

"And you as well," Daphne replied with a smile. She had to admit, Stephan was cute. From his bed, Harry began shouting, but instead of words coming out he began cursing in ancient Egyptian. Damn that meddlesome goblin and his sneaky ways. "I appreciate the help. I'm afraid this is a little out of my league." She gestured over her shoulder to the wizard and goblin and the vampire smiled, sending shivers through her spine.

"I have no doubt that you could solve this situation with ease, my lady, but since I'm here I may as well make myself useful." Turning first to the goblin he began chanting in Latin. Slowly but surely, Ironfist's hair shrunk back to its normal white wisps, the dress disappeared (leaving a naked goblin, which Daphne never ever wanted to see and would probably give her nightmares), fins became legs, and shoes disappeared. Handing the embarrassed goblin a robe, Stephan next turned to Harry, who was attempting to scowl at him.

Stephan seemed to sense the source of his irritation and took great delight in sending Daphne a wink before getting started on his work. To her horror, Daphne actually found herself blushing.

An hour after Daphne had walked in on the terrible twosome, Ironfist and Harry were finally back to normal. Well, almost normal. For some reason Harry kept clucking randomly, but Stephan assured her it would wear off eventually. Bidding goodbye, Stephan brought Daphne's hands to his lips and gave them a soft kiss. Smirking at the blush covering her face, he sent Harry a smug smile before stalking out of the room. Watching him leave, Daphne sighed, Harry glared, and Ragnok laughed.

"You'll find that many have the same reaction. Vampires elude a natural charm that helps them find prey. Not so good for wizards, but many a witch have been known to succumb to his charms." For some reason this didn't seem to make Harry any happier, but Daphne looked a little relieved.

Changing the conversation, and promising revenge on flirty vampires, Harry quizzed his girlfriend on the outcome of the trials.

"Life in Azkaban for Molly, fifteen years in the low security sector for Ginny."

"That seems harsh?"

Daphne shook her head. "Turns out there was more in the mix than we thought. Molly admitting to giving you loyalty potions up through third year, geared towards Ron and Ginny, but especially Ron. That along with the amortentia had the panel in an unforgiving mood."

Harry thought for a moment, then nodded. "Good, though I feel bad for poor Arthur."

"He stopped me after the trial, you know. Apologized right in front of the crowds and reporters. Poor man was actually in tears."

Harry looked uncomfortable at that. "I hope you were nice to him."

"Don't worry prince charming, your reputation is safe. I assured him he had nothing to be sorry for."

"Good. He may be blind to his wife's antics, but he's a good man." Daphne smiled at the conviction in his voice and leaned in to give him a kiss.

"So are you."

"So, is everything ready for tomorrow?"

"Yup. We'd best get there early, too. They're expecting quite a crowd."

"Excellent. It's about time he got what was coming to him."

"Indeed," Ragnok added.

-line break-

"Wow." He'd expected a crowd, but this was just insane. Harry and Daphne had left Gringotts with a goblin guard at ten that morning and made their way to the ministry via floo. Inside was a madhouse. Apparently the court room had filled quite early and now people were packing into the lobby to try and hear what would be a famous trial. After all, it wasn't every day that the famous leader of the light was charged with plotting against the boy-who-lived.

Charging forward, they fought their way to the elevators only to be confronted with an auror blockade.

"Courtroom's full," the auror said, sounding as if he'd repeated himself a thousand times already. "You'll have to listen in on the WWN," he finished, not even glancing in their direction. The poor auror looked quite harried, so Harry didn't take too much offense.

"Thanks, but I think they'll find room for me."

"Oh," the auror snarked, "and just who do you think you-," the auror finally turned and caught side of their party, paling at the intensity of the goblin guards. Harry hadn't been keen on bringing them, but Ragnok had insisted. "Oh," he said meekly.

"Oh indeed. Could you please let us through?"

"Of course my lord, my apologies." The auror quickly stepped aside and let their party of eight (Harry, Daphne, and six guards) into the elevators. A quick ride up and they were back into the mayhem. Early risers, reporters, and everybody else and their mothers were on the floor, packed around the court room doors. Sighing, Harry signaled for the guards to make their way inside. It might be too flashy for his tastes, but it got the job done.

The court room was just as packed as outside, and the noise level only rose when the audience spotted Harry and his entourage. Grimacing, Harry grabbed Daphne's hand and pulled her toward the inner stands that were reserved for Wizengamot members and those involved in the trial. Upon emerging on the court room floor they all sighed in relief as the silencing spell blocked out the crowd's considerable noise.

"Bunch of vultures, they are," a voice to his right said. Spotting Lord Abbott, he smiled.

"Is it always like this?"

"No, almost never, but this isn't an ordinary case, now is it? Normally a small panel of Wizengamot members and ministry officials sit in judgement, but today the whole Wizengamot has turned out to vote. Cyrus asked me to tell you to sit where you sat when you took up your titles. It'll make quite a statement. Ms. Greengrass, you'll find that my wife and daughter are have saved you a seat." He pointed to the front row of seat on the balcony above.

"Thank you Lord Abbott," Harry said.

"Please, call me Phil. And you're very welcome." He shook hands with them both and returned to his seat.

Turning to each other, Daphne and Harry kissed like they'd never kissed before. It was full of desperation and support for each other. "Keep your head up and stick to the plan," Daphne said calmly.

"You too princess," Harry replied. One last kiss later and they split apart, Daphne taking half the goblin guards up to the balcony with her, and Harry taking the other half over to the seats reserved for the twelve. Augusta was already in her seat and was chatting with Amelia, who was leaning over the railing to talk to her.

"Morning ladies."

"Harry! I thought the healers said you would be down for another day."

He gave her a suave grin. "They did, but they let me out early for good behavior. What can I say? I'm just naturally charming."

It seemed that his charms didn't apply to Amelia or Augusta, who both swatted him on the back of his head.

"Getting into trouble so soon?" Harry turned to the newly arrived Cyrus and gave him a mock pout.

"They teamed up on a poor defenseless student! And these ladies are pillars of our community?" He got the laughs he was looking for before the conversation turned more serious.

"Speaking of pillars of the community, what are we expecting in regards to Dumbledore's defense," Cyrus asked Amelia, who sighed in response.

"He's chosen to represent himself, which isn't all that surprising. By the time the trial ends he'll have said so many words that will tell us nothing that we'll be happy to see it end no matter the outcome."

Augusta nodded. "He certainly is talented in answering questions without giving you any answers."

Amelia nodded in agreement. "Yes, and that's the problem. I have no doubt that we'll nail the wanker on something, I'm just not looking forward to all the word play it will take to get there."

"Well, if everything goes to plan you shouldn't have that long a wait." He received three curious looks.

"What do you mean?"

"You'll see." Seeing madam Marchbanks enter the courtroom, the group were forced to accept that answer and take their seats. They all hoped Harry had an ace up his sleeve.

Luckily for them, he did. After Madam Marchbanks called for order and heard Dumbledore's plea of not guilty, Harry stood. Heads swiveled around to stare at him as he caught Madam Marchbanks' eye.

"Lord Potter, you wish to speak?" She didn't sound at all pleased with the interruption but Harry's status allowed him that right.

"I do, your honor. You see, I have no doubt that Albus Dumbledore is guilty of the crimes against my person, and have no desire to sit here all morning and listen to him evading the prosecution's answers. He has been implicated by two people, Mrs. and Ms. Weasley, whom the courts have found guilty of their crimes. Evidence has been gathered against him that cannot be denied. He has been implicated in one of the greatest crimes in our nation."

Another member of the Wizengamot, and one of Dumbledore's staunchest supporters, Elphias Doge, stood and interrupted Harry, making a very large faux pas. "Surely you aren't suggesting we listen to the words of some boy and just give a verdict of guilty and throw a man in Azkaban without giving him a trial? Or are our basic rights now just suggestions?"

Harry merely raised an eyebrow at the man. "If you'd let me finish, you'd know that I'm asking for no such thing. Or are you suggesting that a member of the twelve would go against this body and ignore the laws it so studiously passed upon the creation of our government? On another note," Harry continued, not giving the man time to respond, "It's interesting that you ask if I'm going to throw Dumbledore in Azkaban. Apparently you too see that he's obviously guilty. You must have freed your head from his…grasp." The pause let everyone know that _grasp_ wasn't exactly the term implied.

"What I _was_ saying, as is my right as the victim of the crimes and as a member of this auspicious body, is that the evidence presented and obvious guilt of the defendant don't give me the right to sentence him on the spot," here he shot a glare and the angry and embarrassed face of Elphias Doge, "but it _does_ give me the right to request that the defendant be administered veritassium."

A buzz swept through the courtroom as his words registered.

"If I may," Dumbledore said, standing and gesturing grandly, his grandfatherly facade in full bloom.

"Actually," Harry cut in, "you may not. As _former_ Chief Warlock you are obviously aware of the law that states that with enough evidence is present veritassium can be administered. You should also be aware that the only person who can decide this is the judge. Your opinions, therefore, are neither wanted nor required." Finishing his rant, Harry silenced Dumbledore and turned to Madam Marchbanks, who appeared to be thinking.

Finally she spoke. "While I cannot say I condone the disruption of my courtroom or the silencing of the defendant without due cause," here she gave Harry a glare, "Lord Potter is correct in his statement of the law and its implications. Aurors, administer the veritassium."

Dumbledore was rapidly paling as the aurors approached. His wand taken from him, he resorted to physical violence to try to escape his fate. Rolling their eyes, the aurors simply stunned the man, placed the three drops in his mouth, and then enervated him.

Amelia gave Harry a great beaming smile and went to town asking questions about all of Dumbledore's dirty little secrets. By the end of the day the persisting thought that Dumbledore was a true light wizard was well and truly crushed. Not even his staunch supporter Doge voted innocent for him, though he did abstain. The panel quickly found him guilty of all charges and were about to sentence the defeated man when Harry stood once more.

"Yes Lord Potter?"

"Madam Marchbanks, honored members, I speak before you in the light of Dumbledore's misdeeds not as a lord or student but simply as a wizard. You see, magic is a gift, a great gift, and one that can be used both for good and for evil. It is of no question what Dumbledore used his for. I hasten to point out that I was not the only one affected by his crimes. However, I am the only one in a position to request a specific punishment."

"And what might that be?"

"Magic is a gift, a gift that he used most horribly. I request that in light of his actions, this gift be taken away from him. In short, I request that his magic be bound so that he can never use it to harm another. Thank you."

As he sat down to shocked whispers, the panel deliberated. Harry simply sat by and watched, knowing they would eventually grant him his request. And indeed, moments later, the movement was passed and Dumbledore was led out to a ministry cell, where his magic would be permanently bound.

As the trial ended he made his way to his girlfriend and pulled her close.

"We did it," she whispered to him. "It's over."

"Almost," he said, talking mostly to himself. "Almost."


	26. Ward Walkers

Chapter 26- Ward Walkers

"Alright everyone, settle down. We're about to get started." Harry stood in front of a decent sized crowd in the basement of the shrieking shack. They'd had to use the dueling room for the alliance meeting since their numbers had grown too large to fit in the upstairs den. All in all, a total of twenty people were present, sitting around a transfigured table. Harry stood at the head of the table, Daphne seated in front of him. Leaning on the back of her chair, he started the meeting.

"First of all I'd like to welcome everybody, especially our newest members." His eyes focused on the group towards the back of the table. Susan had brought Hannah after her friend had sworn a secrecy oath. Harry had met the kind hearted Hufflepuff several times and had found her to be a loyal, if giggly, girl.

Continuing to the right, his gaze turned to the two new Slytherins in the room. Daphne had finally decided to let her friends in on her biggest secret. They'd reacted surprisingly well and had asked to join her "third party". Harry had expressed his surprise, only to wryly be informed by Blaise that he'd figured most of things out weeks ago and this just confirmed his suspicions. Tracey had been a bit more polite about it, but she'd reflected Blaise's statement. "Honestly Potter," she'd said, "it was kind of obvious, especially after you took over the government and the school, with Daphne hanging off your arm the whole time." Harry, who'd thought they'd been rather sneaky, had simply blushed and made a hasty retreat.

Next came Luna, who hadn't actually been invited but had stumbled upon them leaving the castle and had simply tagged along, hoping to "scare off the wigglewumps". Remembering that she'd been useful in the initial meeting, plus the fact that she knew about their alliance, they'd simply shrugged and made room for one more at the table.

Ironfist had been a complete surprise. When Ragnok had the ability the apparate through the wards of both the castle and the shrieking shack as of that morning. He also had the ability to bring people through the wards. Harry had expected to see Griphook on Ragnok's left. He wasn't, however, prepared to see Ironfist on his right. That arrival had him diving for cover. When no pranking curses flew, he peeked his head out to see a scowling Ragnok above him. Apparently Ironfist had been practicing his spells and one had gone astray, giving the leader of the goblin nation the voice of a chipmunk. Needless to say, a truce had been called for the duration of the meeting, much to most of the group's relief.

Finally, his eyes settled on Remus. The twins had found him living in a shabby cabin in the middle of the woods. He'd been drunk as a skunk and was sitting, crying over a photo album of his school friends. Upon seeing the twins, he'd staggered over to them and confessed that he felt like a useless fool and that his only reason for living was to kill wormtail and to keep his promise to padfoot to watch over Harry. The twins had seen that as reason enough to offer him entry to the alliance, and once he'd sobered up he accepted gladly, happy to have a purpose once more.

Taking in the werewolves' poor state, Harry made a mental note to offer him residence at the shack and to sick Winky on him. The female elf was always trying to mother him. He expected that she was trying to express her thanks for the job without being too obvious about it. She didn't need to, though. When Dobby had come to him a month ago, asking if Harry would hire Winky as well, Harry had taken one look at the depressed elf and immediately took her on. Seeing the smile on her face had been worth it, plus she had proved to be an excellent cook.

Turning back to the meeting, he continued his speech. "I trust you've all been introduced to each other by now, so we'll get started. First thing on the agenda is Dumbledore." The group gave a collective grimace at the name. "Yah, I know. Anyway, Amelia, what's the word?"

"His magic was bound last night after his trial and he'll be released after a 24 hour monitoring period to make sure the bindings stuck. It took three wizards to get it done properly. Personally I think they could have used two, but I wasn't asked."

"And the political fallout?"

"Not as bad as we expected," Cyrus answered. "The Prophet has painted you the victim and Dumbledore as a dark lord in disguise. Public opinion is currently in our favor."

"Excellent. Do we know what his future plans are?"

Amelia took the torch back up and answered him. "Apparently he's been trying to call connections in for the past three days but no one's interested in becoming involved. They'd be slaughtered by the press if they did. He's not a very likeable guy right now. Latest intel shows that he contacted his brother Aberforth, who's agreed to put him up in his pub in Hogsmeade."

"Will the proximity to the school be a problem? And how will he be able to live in a magical village with no magic?"

Daphne had been curious about that herself and had looked the answer up that morning. "Actually, it's a very curious thing. You see, muggles have no magic in their bodies at all, but Dumbledore's magic wasn't removed, only bound. That makes him more a squib, and squibs _can_ see the magical world and what's in it, which is why Filch can live in the castle. He doesn't, however, have enough magic to expand to perform spells or any such thing. So, to answer your questions, he'll be able to see the school and Hogsmeade, but not perform magic, so no, it shouldn't be a problem. Besides, the wards wouldn't let him on school grounds anyway."

Harry nodded his understanding and moved on to the next subject. "Thank you Daphne. Fred, George? How's your father doing?"

They both grimaced at the question, which Fred answered. "Not good. He blames himself for everything, saying if he'd put a tighter leash on Molly none of this would have ever happened. Daphne's words at the ministry went a long way to fix that, but he's still healing. He's finally got his act together in regards to Ron, though. He's got him working at Scrivenshaft's to pay his rent. Dad hopes the work will keep him out of trouble and teach him responsibility. We're not too convinced, though."

George took up the response then. "On the other hand Bill's found himself a new job and a girl, and you'll never guess who."

"Who?"

"Fleur Delacour!"

"Really?"

"Yup. Our brother's bagged himself a veela," Fred sighed, wiping an imaginary tear from his eye.

"They grow up so fast," George added in the same tone.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that you're doing all right. You'll let us know if you need anything?"

"Of course," the twins responded in sync.

"Excellent. Now, onto the good stuff. We've got a prime opportunity here that we just can't waste. Dumbledore's out of the way now and we're riding a wave of popularity. We need to use that to our advantage and strike while the iron is hot. In that respect, I've come up with assignments for each and every one of you."

"Moony, Snape, Gred, Forge, and Ironfist, I'm putting you in charge of r-and-d (research and development). With your pranking brains, plus Snape's skills in potions and defense, you ought to be able to put together some truly incredible things that will help our cause. The best example I can come up with is weaponizing your portable swamps and putting them in some type of projectile, like a paintball gun. If you don't know what that is look it up later." The group nodded in acquiescence (though Snape looked less than pleased) and Harry moved on.

"Moony, when you're not working on pranks for the DE's I want you sending out feelers into the Order. They're down a leader and no doubt completely disorganized, put some of them can still prove useful. See who's sympathetic to our cause and who isn't. I assume you can contact them?"

Moony nodded. "Yes, we've been meeting at the Hog's Head, Aberforth's bar, weekly. I imagine that will change soon. I'll keep you updated."

"Perfect. Let me know if you need anything. Now, Amelia, Augusta, and Cyrus, you're in the best position to clean up the ministry. It's come a long way under Amelia, but it still has a ways to go. See if you can influence popular opinion in Amelia's favor then that should help quite a bit. I'm sure by now Voldemort is planning some kind of political coup. Keep your eyes out and try to keep his influence to a minimum. I'm not asking for miracles here, but every little bit helps."

"Amelia, if we're going to strike now, we need to be covered."

"You plan to bring the fight to them?"

"We do."

"While I don't like I'll admit that the ministry isn't in the best position to do anything, so you're our best bet. I'll start the paperwork to name you reserve aurors. This way you'll be off duty but covered under ministry protection. I'll also keep the paperwork conveniently missing."

"Thank you. While we're on the topic of fighting, Griphook, Ragnok, I need you to act on the plans we made earlier and to start hunting down death eater hide outs. We'll need targets. Don't worry about the wards, we've got those covered, just get us locations and stats." The two goblins nodded and made a note on their parchment.

"Snape, your job is to keep us in the loop, regarding both your snakes and with Voldemort. However, and I feel I must repeat this since it's probably a new concept, you are NOT to risk your life to get more information. If you feel like things are going south, get back to the castle as fast as you can. You're of no help to us if you're dead." Looking to see if Snape had gotten the message, Harry thought he detected a glimmer of emotion in his eye. Harry suspected that Dumbledore hadn't been that concerned with his personal safety, but the alliance needed all of its members whole and well. Finally Harry received a nod from the potions master and he moved on.

"Blaise, Tracey, Hannah, and Luna, you all have jobs regarding the students. First off, I want you snakes to put the word out, quietly, mind you, that there's a third side in the war. Hopefully it will both bolster our numbers and give potential death eaters an easy out, thus decreasing Snake face's numbers. We have the money and resources, so if they ask, give both them and their family's sanctuary. Griphook, Ragnok, I want you to start using my funds to purchase remote real estate that we can use as safe houses.

On top of this, I want you four students to set up a patrol. Hogwarts is as safe as I can make it, but we still shouldn't let our guards down. I'm sure there are still cracks in our defenses. Your job is to take note if you find any, and to keep an eye out for suspicious activity. Just because there are no marked students in the castle, that doesn't mean that there aren't any sympathizers. If you feel a friend is trustworthy, get them to give you an oath and bring them with you on your patrols. There's safety in numbers, after all. I must advise caution, though. Make sure your oath is foolproof, and come to me, Daphne, Neville, or Susan first before you get it." Four nods later and he moved on.

"Evelyn, Katie, I have jobs for you, too." Katie, who had been in a silencing bubble happily coloring with some crayons, looked up at the sudden noise. "That's right, Katie, I need your help." The little girl put down her crayon and listened with rapt attention. "I fully expect some families to accept our offer, and the first place I'll be putting them is Grimmauld place. Now, it's not the best feeling being cooped up in a crappy house, so your job is to bolster their spirits. Bring foods, play games, do whatever you can. I want happy families, not depressed prisoners." He remembered very well the misery of Sirius when he was stuck in that house and was hoping to prevent that from recurring.

Katie immediately started coloring welcome cards for the families, earning smiles from all around. Once the silencing spell was put back up, Harry continued. "There's more. I'm not just expecting people pressured by Voldemort. His main targets are going to be the muggleborns, so that's where our attentions need to lie. I plan on talking with the Hogwarts elves this evening when I return to the castle. If they're willing, and I expect they will be, I'll assign each muggleborn family a security elf. Any sign of danger and the elves can pop in, grab the family, and pop out. Should drive Voldemort nuts."

"Harry, that's brilliant!" Susan looked ecstatic. Harry hated to burst her bubble, but it was necessary.

"Yes, well, there's a downside, too. When the DE's find their targets have gone missing, they're likely to destroy everything they see in a fit of temper. I expect we'll be needing to put those families in safe houses as well, but hopefully it won't come to that."

With the bulk part of the work done for that meeting, talk soon moved to inconsequential things. When Daphne was fully occupied by Katie, who was regaling her with stories of her first trip to Diagon Alley, Harry slipped away to approach Griphook.

"Hey Griphook," he said in a low voice, "is that order I placed with you ready yet?"

The goblin turned to him and smirked. "Which one?" Ignoring the blush on the wizards' cheeks, the goblin chuckled and continued on. "Unfortunately, neither are quite ready yet. I expect them both to be done by the weekend, so expect my owl then."

"I will, thank you."

Returning to his girlfriend, he found that Katie had left. It was getting close to lunch time and she had started to get cranky.

"What was that about," Daphne asked in regards to his shady dealing with the goblin.

"Oh, nothing, love," he said, giving her an innocent smile. She raised an eyebrow at him, clearly not impressed. After a silent staring contest he finally broke. "Fine," he pouted petulantly, "you win. Grab the twins, Sue, and Neville and meet me upstairs in a bit. I have to talk to Remus first." Ignoring her gloating look, he slunk off to force his hospitality on the reluctant werewolf.

"Remus, really! It'll be fine. You can use the office downstairs for your transformation, and Snape with bring the wolfsbane by each month. Plus Winky would love to have some company. You would be doing me a favor really!"

"Alright," Remus said, finally giving in. They had been arguing for ten minutes. Remus didn't want to be a burden, but Harry was adamant that he move in. "I'll stay."

Harry gave a big grin and slapped the man on the back. "Excellent. Do try one of Winky's treacle tarts, they're phenomenal. Oh, and I've keyed you into the wards so you can apparate in and out. There's no floo connection, unfortunately. You'd have to floo to either the castle or Hogsmeade and then walk to the shack."

"No problem, I'm sure I'll manage." Wishing the kind man goodbye, he waited until his guests had all left before retiring upstairs, only to find five curious teens waiting on him. Oh, right, he'd forgotten.

"Alright guys, this is big. Really big." He punctuated that statement by casting every privacy charm he could think of in what was already a very private location. "You know those notes I've been working on, the runic ones? Well, I've decoded them all. If it works, this could win us the war."

He reached into his back pocket and drew out the ever-present set of notes. Withdrawing the topmost sheet, he held it up for all to see. "This," he explained, "is an explanation of Godric's work. It wasn't until I was in Gringotts infirmary, bored out of my mind, that I stumbled across someone that could translate for me." Ironfist, actually, had been the helpful one. Apparently he studied ancient Celtic for fun, the weirdo. He paused for dramatic effect, but Daphne was growing impatient.

"Can you get to the point already?"

He pouted at her. "Fine. This," he said with a flourish, "is a combination of spell, potion, and ritual that will, in theory, make oneself impervious to any and all sets of wards in existence, both past and present."

"What do you mean by impervious?"

"I mean, Daphne dearest, that when do this, we can walk right up to Voldemort and punch him in the nose, even if he's behind the best wards money can buy."

Five sets of eyes stared at him. Finally Neville broke the silence. "You're joking."

"Nope," Harry said proudly, "it's all true, every last word!"

"That's…impossible," Susan said weakly.

"Apparently not."

"But, if something like that existed, wouldn't it be in use today? I can't imagine Godric Gryffindor simply abandoning it last minute, or not passing on the secret."

"True, but the thing is, I don't think Gryffindor actually got to test his theories. The date on the latest set of notes, which was incomplete, corresponded to the day he died. The notes were only accessible by his heirs, who either didn't find his study or didn't realize what the notes were for."

"You said the notes were unfinished. So, who finished them?"

"I did," he said proudly. "There was only a little bit of math left so I worked out the problem. Then I went back through and tweaked it a bit." Seeing their questioning stares, he explained further. "Some of the ingredients for the potion and ritual were unavailable way back then, so Godric substituted other things. I simply resubstituted in the current day items."

"And if we do this, we can walk through any ward? Even the fidelus?"

"The fidelus is tricky. We'd need a general location, preferably within sight of the ward itself, but then yes, we could walk right through it."

"How?"

"So Godric based his idea off the definition of wards themselves- bands of energy arranged in a certain pattern. Certain patterns combined with certain energies create specific effects, like fireproofing a house, for example. The bands of energy are so tiny that you can't see them without the aid of specific spells. Godric theorized that if one could repel these strands, they could walk right through the ward."

"So the potion, charm, and ritual basically make our bodies like magnets?"

Harry beamed at his brilliant girlfriend. "Exactly! Instead of repulsion charms, Godric worked on creating like energies that would act like two similarly charged magnets. Like repels like!"

"But wouldn't that just push us _away_ from the wards?"

"In theory, yes, which is why the ritual and potion aspect are needed. The charm itself casts the energies that repel the wards. The ritual takes the energies and forces them into a layer surrounding our bodies. Finally, the potion grounds us, keeping us separate from the layers. It's a complex theory, but basically the energies aren't part of us but are attached to our energies. It's weird, but brilliant. Anyway, trust me on this, if it works, which it should, then the six of us will be able to walk through the wards keeping the DEs safe."

"They'd be sitting ducks," Neville explained, finally catching on.

"Exactly."

"So what do we need for this ritual? And who's making the potion?"

"Griphook is currently gathering everything we'll need for the ritual. It should all be here this weekend. As to the potion, it's really complex and frankly I don't understand much of it." He handed the formula over to Susan, who chewed on her lip thoughtfully.

"This is really complicated," she said after reading it through, "and some of these ingredients are really rare and really volatile. I'm good at potions, but this is way above my level."

"Mastery level?"

"Well, yes, why," Susan asked?

"Because I just happen to know the youngest potions master in centuries. In fact, we all do," Daphne said with a grin.

"Snape," Harry said, catching on.

"Snape," Daphne confirmed.

"How long does it take to brew, Susan?" She looked over the sheet once more.

"We're lucky. Some complex potions take months to brew, this one should only take a week."

"Just in time for Halloween then," Harry said with a feral smile.

"Indeed. I think we've just found our new deadline," Daphne said.

"And the date of our first attack," Neville added grimly.

"Indeed. We'd best get to work."

-line break-

After they had lunch, the four teens split from the Great Hall. Neville and Daphne headed to their rooms, Susan went to discuss the potion with Snape, and Harry went to have a discussion with the new Headmistress. He had a few new ideas that he hoped she would be open to.

"Open for Lord Hogwarts," he commanded to the gargoyle, which readily obeyed. Standing tall and putting on his "lord face", he stepped off the moving stairs and knocked on the door.

"Enter," he heard McGonagall call. Doing so, he found her in the middle of packing up Dumbledore's things. "Hello Harry. I wasn't expecting you. Is everything alright?"

"Yes it is, but I was hoping to have a discussion with you as Lord Hogwarts."

"Of course," she said, putting aside the baubles and trinkets she was packing away. "Please, have a seat."

"Thank you. Would you mind calling Professor Flitwick up here as well?" Confused at the request, she nonetheless acquiesced and flooed Filius, asking him to come over. Shortly afterwards the tiny professor stepped out of the flames and took a seat.

"Hello Professors. I'm sure you're wondering why we're here."

"I'll admit myself curious," McGonagall said wryly.

"Yes, well, I believe you're aware that Hogwarts has had a recent change in employment?" McGonagall snorted at that statement. Change in employment indeed. "Yes, well, I've found that the school is in need of a new headmaster, or, as the case may be, headmistress." He looked to McGonagall, who looked slightly shocked.

"Yes, well, I had assumed I would replace him, but I wasn't expecting it to occur so soon."

"Why wait? We need a headmaster, excuse me, headmistress, and you're here and ready. So, do you Minerva McGonagall accept the position of Headmistress?"

"I do."

"And do you, as headmistress, promise to do your best by the school and its students, at the cost of your life if necessary?"

"I do."

"Then I declare as Lord Hogwarts that Minerva McGonagall is now acting Headmistress, effective immediately. So mote it be." A flash of light surrounded them before vanishing just as quickly. "Welcome, Headmistress," Harry said with a smile. Flitwick mirrored his statement.

"Now, as headmistress, I do believe that you require a deputy."

The new headmistress raised an eyebrow at her favorite student. "I believe I see where you're going with this, my lord. Filius," she said, turning to the professor, "I don't suppose you're interested in the position?"

After Filius overcame his shock, he quickly agreed to take up the position and they moved on to business.

"Alright, now that that's out of the way, I wanted to talk to you about potential changes for the school. These, if passed by both yourself and your deputy, would become effective in the fall of next year."

"What kind of changes are we talking about?"

Harry gave a feral grin. "I'm so very glad you asked." The changes Harry wanted to make to the school were numerous and by no means subtle.

He started with the discussion of faculty. "Binns and Trelawney need to go, stat. Binns' class is nothing but an extra nap time for tires students, and Trelawney is a drunk and a fraud. She spends her classes predicting the death of random students. Were she to be the true thing, I would have died many times by now." McGonagall and Flitwick both nodded in agreement. "Snape, too, should go. He is brilliant at potions, yes, but a teacher he is not. I have spoken to him about this, and he has agreed to retire from teacher after this next year." Snape had been ecstatic when Harry asked if he would leave. Apparently Dumbledore had been keeping him at the school against his wishes. It was the only time he'd ever seen Snape smile.

"In regards to classes, I'd like to revamp some and add several others." He handed her a list that included wandless magic, healing, elemental magic, physical education, maths, magical beings (like elves and goblins), household charms, finance, etiquette, and wizard studies, the twin of muggle studies. "In addition to adding these, at least, most of them, muggle studies needs to be completely redone. It's at least two centuries out of date. I'm hoping you can acquire a teacher that's actually met a muggle in their lifetime. I also want it to be mandatory to take either muggle or wizarding studies, depending on the student's background."

"Now, the house system is currently more divisive than anything else. I propose it be kept, but that certain changes be made to bring the four houses closer together. These changes can include things like increasing class size so all four houses are included, or creating common rooms for year groups rather than houses. I'm open to any more suggestions in that regard.

I also want to add some clubs for the students. Lots of people like quidditch, but only those good enough to make the house teams actually get too. I was thinking we could set up intramurals for teams divided by year groups. It will also help bring the houses closer. On top of quidditch there are some other sports that we can introduce, like football for the muggle raised students.

But the clubs don't necessarily have to be sports. I was hoping Professor Flitwick would consent to hosting a dueling club, complete with tournaments. We could even invite other schools to participate." Flitwick's face lit up at the idea, making Harry conclude that he wouldn't have to work hard to convince him to put something together.

"Another thing I wanted to bring up is family involvement. Right now only the parents that have actually been to Hogwarts have seen the school or know its ins and outs. To me that's unacceptable. If I had a child I would want to see the school they spent for of the year at with my own eyes."

"But muggles can't actually see the castle," McGonagall said.

"True, because there are muggle-repelling wards all around. But, might I remind you who actually controls the wards?" Looks of understanding dawned on both their faces. "Exactly. I was thinking we could have a day to showcase the student's talents in their classes, and maybe make the quidditch games open to the public. Security would be a nightmare but with enough forethought I think we could manage."

"Finally, I want to bring this school into the current century. Muggles are far ahead of the wizarding world on most aspects of life and things like central air and electricity could really benefit the school. Plus, if we could get electronics to work here, which should be possible with the new wards, we could have things like cd players and computers, even phones for students to call home with."

"How exactly do you propose we implement these new measures?"

"I honestly have no idea. You two are smart, though, and I'm sure you can see the benefits this stuff will have. Feel free to look outside to companies from other countries that specialize in these sort of things; I'm sure there are some. You'll need to get them checked out first, but that shouldn't be a problem."

"And would those be the only updates you'd be making?"

"Not even close. As I told you before in the beginning of the school year, I'm dumping funds into the school budget and expect you to take full advantage. I understand that people may have been hesitant before, what with Dumbledore scowling at you all for suggesting we buy new brooms or what not, but now that he's gone that shouldn't be a problem. Buy new brooms, new books, new telescopes, new furniture, etcetera. Go crazy, you certainly have the money for it."

"Well, you've certainly given us quite a bit to think about. I assume you'll want to hear back from us in the future?"

"Yes, but it doesn't need to happen any time soon. Take your time, think things out, talk to faculty and students alike. Purchases on new equipment can start immediately and don't need to be run by me, though I will be seeing explanations in the monthly financial reports that I hope Headmistress McGonagall will actually be completing, unlike her predecessor." The three of them smirked at that.

"I assure you that everything will be above board."

"Of that I have no doubt. I have every faith in your abilities. If you need any help or have any questions, feel free to seek me out. Just be sure to knock," he said with a cheeky grin. After a round of laughs he took his leave from the thoughtful looking headmistress and ecstatic half-goblin. They'd been much more accepting of his ideas than he'd anticipated. Perhaps Dumbledore leaving had loosened them up a bit.

Later that evening, Harry sought out Neville, who was headed to the great hall. "Hey Nev."

"Hey Harry. How'd the talk with McGonagall go?"

"Really well. You heard from Susan yet?"

"Yes, she said Snape was interested in helping, though he would need a few more ingredients. When she told him that they were on their way and he could keep any extra, he accepted gladly. Say what you want about the man but he sure does love his potions."

"I hear that. Any updates on that other matter I talked to you about?" Neville grinned at him slyly.

"Yes. Everything should be set for the weekend just like you asked. Has Griphook got back to you about that other thing?"

"Not yet. He said it should be ready soon though."

"Perfect. Everything's looking good then."

"Yes, let's just hope it stays that way."

Neville laughed at his friend. "Don't worry mate, it'll all work out. Trust me." Grimacing, Harry nodded and walked away with his friend.

As they turned a corner, Daphne stepped out from behind a column and stared after them in confusion and suspicion. Just what was her boyfriend up to?


	27. Say Yes

Chapter 27- Say Yes

The week following the alliance's meeting passed much too slowly for those who knew what was coming. Griphook hadn't managed to get all the necessary items together until the following Saturday, leaving them with only eight days to fully prepare for their attack.

As soon as Hedwig arrived with a shrunken crate tied to her foot, Harry and his friends had grabbed it and fled to his rooms. Enlarging the crate and absently tossing some bacon at an annoyed Hedwig (who'd followed them all the way to the seventh floor to get her damn bacon) they ripped the top off and dug right it. So caught up in their exploration of the trunks contents were they that none of them caught Harry pocketing a small black box. Sighing in relief, Harry returned to the problem at hand and began giving out orders.

"Alright, Susan, grab everything needed for the potion and get it down to Snape immediately. Tell him it needs to be his first priority. If he's quick, it can be done the day before we need it. Then we can do the ritual that night and be ready for the attack the next day."

A knock at the door startled them all out of their thoughts. Drawing his wand, Harry cautiously walked to the door.

"Who's there?"

"Snape," the potions master replied crisply.

Surprised, Harry opened the door to find the surly potions master in the hall. Gesturing him inside, Harry followed his professor into his rooms, his face a mask of curiosity.

"I have some important news," Snape began, ignoring the mess the teens had made on the floor.

"Regarding what, exactly," Harry asked?

"It seems that you are not the only ones planning an attack for this Saturday." Slowly the four teens' faces dawned with comprehension.

"Voldemort," Harry breathed. Snape nodded.

"Indeed. It seems that he's decided to take advantage of Dumbledore's absence and begin his reign of terror rather early this year."

"Do you know where or when?" Snape shook his head.

"He didn't give specifics, unfortunately. He's growing rather paranoid as of late. We're not sure if it's because you," he pointed to Harry, "are growing stronger or because the ministry is actually being rather effective. Personally, I think it's the latter. He was most displeased when his ministry connections were outed, first because of their marks and then because of the oaths Amelia had them make. In the last couple months you've crippled his support and information bases. With no funds and no spies he's been growing rather frustrated. I think this weekends' attacks are an outcome of that frustration."

"That certainly sounds like something he'd do," Harry said in disgust.

"You don't think Voldemort sees Harry as a threat," asked Daphne.

Snape shook his head once more. "The Dark Lord is arrogant and thinks that no one, especially a mere school boy, can come close to defeating him. With his back up plans for immortality, I understand his opinions. He thinks he can just come back even if he is defeated. I'm hoping that that's no longer the case?"

Harry nodded. "We've only Nagini left. Any ideas for how we can fix that?"

Snape looked thoughtful for a moment. "Actually, I might just have one. You see, I didn't come up here to warn you of the attack, but to inform you of an opportunity. The Dark Lord has several hundred followers in both Britain and surrounding countries. Normally he calls only a small number of those to him at a time. However, since he's grown frustrated and complacent, he's decided that he can risk having them all meet at once." The teens perked up at that.

"This Saturday the entirety of the wizard portion of the Dark Lord's army will be present in his current location, Malfoy Manor, at midday. There they will receive their assignments for the attacks that afternoon. I hypothesize that the Dark Lord will divide his forces across high population targets, like Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade, the Ministry, and St. Mungos. Those, however, are just guesses. He could be targeting muggle villages for all I know."

"What does this have to do with Nagini," Susan asked?

"You have a rare opportunity to do serious damage to the Dark Lord's ranks. They'll all be in one place and complacent, thinking that they're safe behind the manor's wards. You've told me you have ways through these wards?" The teens nodded but didn't offer any extra information. They'd figured that the ward walker rituals should be kept secret. Snape didn't even know what the potion he was making did, and even if he figured it out, it wouldn't make sense to him without the ritual or the spell.

"Well then, I suggest you simply walk right in and take out as many as you can. When they finally regroup and are able to fight back, flee."

"And Nagini?"

"Nagini is always by her master's side. He will most certainly be there this weekend to dole out orders. It wouldn't look too suspicious if she died in the attack, especially if you make it look more like an accident or afterthought than a targeted kill."

"It'll be like shooting fish in a barrel," Harry said, awed, ignoring the confuse looks he was receiving from the purebloods.

"Yes, with one particular fish being on the menu," Snape said with a smirk. He really liked how quickly things were coming along. With any luck he would be free from his evil master by Christmas.

"That's it, then. We take out her and as many death eaters as we can, and then we high tail it back here behind the safety of the wards. They'll be too disorganized and injured to carry out their attacks, and we'll have not only rendered him immortal, but took out a chunk of his army, too. It's perfect."

"Perfect may be too much a hope, but it is certainly advantageous."

Harry grinned at Snape. "Stop being such a pessimist. It's gonna be awesome." Snape rolled his eyes but didn't deny Harry's statement.

"Speaking of awesome, those ingredients we were waiting for just came in."

"Yes, I concluded that from the way you practically stripped your bird bald by yanking of the package and running with it. In fact, I believe she followed you and made her displeasure known?" Harry looked guiltily over at Hedwig, who was perched on an armchair, glaring at her wizard.

"Sorry Hedwig," he muttered, pouting when she turned her back to him in response. Harry quickly made a note to give her extra bacon every morning that week.

"Yes, well, if you'll give me the ingredients I need I'll leave you and your bird to figure things out yourself," Snape said tactfully (for him at least).

"Sure," Harry said glumly, still pouting over Hedwig's treatment (of him of her no one was sure). Susan gathered up everything for the potion and placed it in a bag, handing it to the professor.

"I have to finish up here," Susan said before he left, "but afterwards I was hoping you'd allow me to watch the first few steps," she asked hopefully? Snape eyed her for a moment before nodding stiffly and exiting the room. Susan grinned at her stunned friends. "I think he likes me!" Neville snorted at that. "Okay, maybe he just hates me a little less." That got her a round of laughs from the group.

"Alright, so, how exactly does this ritual work," Neville asked when they'd calmed down.

"Good question. It's actually rather unique to each person, especially since it can only be performed on one person at a time. According to Godric's notes, we all have to collect items that reflect the natural elements, about fifteen of them, but less is okay. Then we stand in a pentagram drawn in volcanic ash and slowly walk to each tip of the star, placing one of our items. While we do this a person nearby is casting the spell. I figured we'd do it in pairs, with me and Daphne, Neville and Susan, and then Fred and George."

"Why can't we just do it all at once or altogether?"

"Because the ritual it only for one person and you have to be naked for it."

"Oh."

"Yup. Anyway, the spell is super long and takes concentration. We're all going to have to practice. Godric anticipated that it could take up to an hour to cast."

"Gross."

"Yah, but it will be worth it. Anyway, once the spell is complete the ritual ends and you take the potion. That should be that."

"Sounds simple."

"I know, that's what has me worried," Harry replied.

"What kind of items do we use?"

"Anything elemental. A leaf, a burnt stick, a rock, whatever strikes your fancy. You just have to see it as elemental."

"Why elemental, though? What does that have to do with ward energies," Daphne asked?

"The ancient group that created the runes, and I still haven't found a name for them despite reading every book I could find, believed that all energy came from the earth and returned to it when they died. It was the source of life and to be treated with great respect. The tokens in the ritual represented their connection to the energy-giver. It also helps us stay on the ground when we're being repelled by nearby energy sources."

"So we just need them all by Friday, then?"

"Yes, and don't put any magics on them either. They need to be pure, no interfering energies. In regards to that, it may work better to have fresh ingredients, so you may want to gather some of them right before the ritual."

Daphne nodded, then asked another question. "You said we put the tokens on the points, but there are five points and only four elements."

"The only point is symbolic. You leave it empty, as the great mother, that's what the ancients called the earth, filled that spot with her presence. It was an extra way to include her in the ritual. Rumor has it that it glowed with the power of the earth when the ritual was blessed by the great mother."

There were a few moments of silence as the group processed that.

"Are there any downsides to the ritual," Susan asked at last? "And how long does it last?"

Harry thought for a moment. "There aren't any downsides I can think of other than having to be extra careful to not give your abilities away. It wouldn't be very good if you casually walked through super powerful wards without a second thought and someone noticed you."

"But surely the death eaters will notice our presence," Daphne objected.

"True, but they won't know how we got there. You or Susan can scout for nearby sentries before we cross over to make sure our entry goes unnoticed."

"And the wards won't signal that someone entered them?"

"No, because we aren't entering them. If we broke the energy strands by walking through them they would send a signal, but we're just pushing them to the sides a bit and walking through an empty hole. We won't have walked through the wards at all, technically."

"Then why were they called ward walkers?"

"I don't know," Harry said in exasperation, "They just were."

"Silly name if you ask me," Susan muttered. Neville nodded his head in agreement.

"Anyway," Daphne said with a roll of her eyes, "that only answers the first question. What about the second?"

"The second question I don't have an answer to. Godric theorized that the effects could last your entire life, or they could wear off within a few months. Since he had never seen it done and his work was purely theoretical, I have no way to answer that question. We'll just have to wait and see and redo the ritual if it runs out."

"That's another concern," Daphne said. "How long are we planning on using this? And are we passing it on or burning it all up? It seems like a waste but on the other hand it could be very dangerous in the wrong hands."

"Ugh, ethics," Susan muttered.

"I'm with Susan," Harry voiced.

"I think the answer is simple, really," Neville said, surprising the group. While he'd broken out of his shell and was an outgoing young man, he still tended to be rather quiet and withdrawn. "We're doing this to get rid of the death eaters, right?" They all nodded. "Then once that's done, we're done. I don't know about you guys, but I look forward to living a normal life without having to clean up someone else's mess and fight a war that shouldn't exist in the first place."

There was a pregnant pause before Susan lunged at her boyfriend and snogged him senseless.

"You," _kiss_ "are" _kiss_ "so" _kiss_ "noble" _kiss_ "and" _kiss_ "I" _kiss_ "just" _kiss_ "want" _kiss_ "to" _kiss_ "take" _kiss_ "you" _kiss_ "right" _kiss_ "here" _kiss_.

"Whoa, you two have your own bedrooms," Harry began, "there's no need to taint ours with your life of sin."

Unperturbed, Susan just sent him a look. "I take it we're done here?"

"Yes."

"Excellent." Susan dragged an unresponsive Neville (who wore a goofy grin on his face) out of the room and down wherever they went to be alone.

"Well then," Harry said after a couple minutes.

"Yah, I wasn't really expecting that either."

"Yah." They sat in awkward silence for a little bit.

"You know," Harry said suddenly, "I'm noble too!"

"Mhm," Daphne responded.

"And rather brilliant. I did come up with this whole thing after all."

"True."

"I've done way more than _Neville_."

"I suppose."

"So don't I deserve a reward too?" Harry gave his girlfriend a hopeful look.

"Well," she began slowly, "I suppose you _have_ been good lately." Harry nodded eagerly. "And you _did_ solve our big problem." Harry nodded faster and faster. "So I suppose you deserve some kind of reward." Harry stared at her pleadingly as she looked at him thoughtfully. Slowly she gave him a grin. "I'm sure I can think of something that will do." Grinning in boyish excitement Harry grabbed his girlfriend and rushed to the nearest bedroom. Man, he was so lucky.

Later that week Blaise approached their group and asked to speak with them privately. The students in the alliance had all voted for him to be their unofficial spokesperson, so he'd been preparing to brief Harry and his group on the interest he was getting in regards to requesting asylum. Shortly thereafter he was tucked away in Harry's rooms with a cup of tea in his hand and the group's full attention.

"Alright, well, we'll start with the good news first since I'm in that kind of mood. Over the past few days the whisperers, that's what we call ourselves, stupid name, I know, but no one wanted to say anything and make Hannah cry." Susan nodded understandably, her friend could be a little touchy. "Anyway, we began to put the word out about a third party. Honestly, I don't really think it was even necessary. Everyone who's been paying attention knows that Harry broke from Dumbledore and formed his own group. What _was_ necessary was putting out the word about asylum."

"Any requests?"

"Not yet, but I've had several people request more information about it. Slytherins are a bit more cautious about the offer. They're worried it could be a trap to discover who's doubting the Dark Lord and are worried about retribution. Since I haven't been one of your party very long, especially out in the open, people are obviously wary of approaching me. I think our best bet may be to have Daphne with me during those meetings." Daphne nodded in understanding.

"What about the other houses," Harry asked?

"Depends. Gryffindor is strongly behind you, at least on the surface. Anyone worried about attacks from the Dark Lord won't have a problem asking you for help. In fact, they're more likely to approach you than me, since I'm just a slimy Slytherin." Harry shrugged apologetically but Blaise waved it off. "No problem, mate, I'm used to it. The thing is, I'm sure that there are some sympathizers in that house, but they're gonna be hard to find since anyone speaking out against you would be ostracized."

"Yah, we've been worried about that too, but without proof the only thing we can do is watch and wait," Harry responded.

Blaise nodded. "I was thinking the same thing. But in other houses it's not so complicated. Ravenclaw looks at things logically. Any decisions they make are well thought out and respected by their peers, even if they happen to disagree. Luna, while not respected in her house, is expecting several offers from those who have deduced they will be in danger. They'd probably be some of the first to approach you, right after the Gryffindors."

"Next come Hufflepuff's. Now, the 'puffs are loyal to a fault. If they're on your side, you'll know, and you'll have allies for life. But a lot of them have family that went dark in the last war, and their loyalty will have them leaning towards that side as well. It's them you really need to watch out for, since they're the most underestimated."

"Finally, Slytherin. Openly, the house is dark. Even with Malfoy gone no one is stupid enough to disagree with the Dark Lord's agenda outright. However, there is a very large neutral party. Slytherin's are cunning and ambitious, their best bet is to pick the side that will benefit them the most, more often than not the winning side. After you're take down of Dumbledore, takeover of the school, and assertion of power in the Wizengamot, you're coming out to be a strong candidate. There's been a lot of interest in joining your side, though there haven't been any open offers yet. Honestly, it's too soon for that. I expect, though, that after this weekend you'll be seeing a lot of offers."

The teens nodded in understanding.

"In regards to muggleborns, we let Luna and Hannah approach them, expecting that a Slytherin approaching them would do more harm than good. Harry, did you talk to the elves?"

"Yes. They agreed to keep an eye on the muggle families and to evacuate them in case of trouble. The best part is they are caught in the anti-apparition wards that DE's like to put up."

"Excellent. A lot of muggleborns have asked for an elf to keep an eye on their families. I have the list here." He handed a sheet of parchment over to Harry, who looked it over. There were about fourteen names on the list, mostly from the younger years.

"Why younger years?"

"Ah, I wondered that too at first, but I figured that most of the older years have seen the dangers and have already made plans for their families in case of attack. Many have fled the country or moved to remote locations. Still, we're hoping that more will approach us as time goes on and they see that we're trustworthy."

They sat and processed that for a moment before Daphne asked, "You said that was the good news, so what's the bad?"

Here Blaise grimaced. "Yah, there's bad news alright, but I'm not sure that there's anything you can do about it."

"What do you mean," Neville asked?

"It's Pansy." The teens all rolled their eyes. "Yah, I know, but I swear that she's up to something. She's been much too smug the last few days and keeps whispering with her friends when she thinks no one's looking. Even more worrisome is that some of the neutral party has been swayed to her side by whatever she has up her sleeve. So far no one's talking, either, so I have no idea what to expect."

Harry's face was grim. "It seems we'll just have to keep an eye on her and stay on our toes. Blaise, you and Tracey are welcome here any time. If things go pear shaped, get who you can and get the hell out of there. Understood?"

The dark haired boy nodded.

"Alright, keep up the good work. Preparations for Saturday are on schedule, so if all goes as planned you'll be seeing a lot more interest come Sunday." Blaise smiled grimly and wished them luck before heading back to his common room.

"What do you think," Harry asked once he'd left.

"Pansy's definitely up to something. I've noticed she seems cockier and keeps sending me smug looks," Daphne replied.

"Alright, I'll have Griphook make us all a bunch of emergency portkeys. We'll get them out to each of the alliance. Hopefully that will circumvent whatever she has planned."

"Good idea. You may want to order extra and have Blaise and _the whisperers_ ," here Daphne snickered, "pass them out to whoever they vet. It could be another selling point and win people over to our side."

"Alright, I'll let Griphook know. We'll start with an extra ten and go from there. I'll make sure that they're small enough and common enough to not be suspicious."

"Perfect. Dobby!" The happy elf popped in and looked to his mistress.

"Yes Missus Daffy?" Daphne rolled her eyes at the nickname but didn't comment.

"Dobby, here's a list of muggleborn families that want extra protection. Can you head down to the kitchens and assign an elf to each one?" Dobby took the list from Harry and nodded.

"Dobby will be doing this." He popped away, leaving the four teens alone.

"Well, I guess that's all we can do until Friday. We'll just have to hope that that's enough."

-line break-

The next day Daphne was headed to her runes class when something in the window caught her eye. There, walking across the grounds, was her father, deep in discussion with her boyfriend. Scowling, she continued on to her classes, thinking furiously about why he would be there, and without letting her know. Harry had been acting odd the whole week, ever since the shipment had come. At first she'd thought that he was nervous about the ritual, but it seemed to be more than that.

He kept trading these weird looks with Neville and acting all innocent when he realized that she had seen. What on earth was he up to? Well, have no doubt, she was going to found out. She wasn't a Slytherin for nothing.

-line break-

Classes that Friday were torture. It seems like time was passing extra slowly and that each time Harry looked at the clock, only minutes had passed. He was scolded for bouncing in his seat and not paying attention multiple times, until his teachers finally gave up in him. All in all he lost thirty house points and gained two detentions, but he couldn't care less. Classes were finally over and it was time.

When the final bell rang Harry practically sprinted out of his classroom and down to the dungeons. Apparently everyone else had the same idea, too, since they all arrived at Snape's door, out of breath, at around the same time. Knocking, they waited impatiently for the door to open.

Snape had barely finished his lesson when the bell rang. Relaxing for a few minutes, he was surprised when he heard a knock on the door. Opening it, he found a bunch of panting hooligans looking at his with puppy dog eyes. Rolling his eyes in annoyance, he quickly fetched the potion. Just because he was their ally didn't mean he wanted to spend more time with the dunderheads. Passing off the bright yellow potion, he rolled his eyes once more when they sprinted off through the dungeons, throwing a thank you over their shoulder. Absently taking ten points from Gryffindor, he slammed his door and returned to his blessed solitude. Gods how he hated teenagers.

It seemed that Fred and George were equally as excited about the ritual as they were. They'd closed the shop up early, citing personal reasons, and rushed to Hogwarts' gates. There they met the other four, who all held small bags full of leaves, twigs, and other elemental things. Grinning, the twins each pulled out their own bags and followed the four down the path to the Forbidden Forest.

For the ritual to work, they needed to be free from magical interference, especially from wards. Harry had gone looking for a suitable place earlier in the week and came across a clearing in the forest that would do quite nicely. He wasn't worried about dark creatures, either, since they could all defend themselves well enough and they weren't too close to the dens of any nasty creatures (i.e. Aragog).

Since Harry had discovered the ritual (and since they didn't know if it would backfire and kill them all) he was unanimously elected to go first. Shooting his friends a sour glance, he shrugged off his robes and began drawing the pentagram in black ash.

"Alright, as soon as I step into the middle it becomes active. I have to lay all my tokens down before you start the spell, Daph, so watch your timing. Fred, George, change into Rascal and Swiper and keep an eye on the borders. We can't have this thing interrupted by any magical creatures looking for an easy meal. Susan, Neville, you're our heavy hitters. Stay in the clearing on the edges and keep an eye out. Also, keep your backs to me. I don't need my best mate mad at me because his girlfriend is fawning over my gorgeous body." To enunciate, Harry struck a manly pose, which was ruined by his girlfriend's elbow entering his stomach.

Giggling, Susan skipped off. "Real manly, Harry, I'm already jealous." Joining her, Neville sent him a smug look before turning away. Shooting his girlfriend a look, Harry took off the rest of his clothes and stepped into the pentagram.

Not waiting for an invitation, he immediately began placing his tokens at four points of the star, leaving the fifth empty save for a small, empty circle of ash. As he laid his first token down the tip of the star flashed gold. The color traveled to the next point after he laid the next token down, and then the next and the next, running straight through the empty point. Each time he went around the star burned a little brighter, until he placed his last token down, when the blinding light transferred to himself. The ritual component was complete, he was surrounded by energy.

Taking her cue, Daphne began the long chant that she had practiced over and over again the past week. It wasn't difficult to memorize since it basically repeated the same thing again and again, but it required a lot of concentration.

At first it looked as though nothing was happening, but after a while a clear difference was made. The energy that had been dancing wildly around Harry was slowly being pushed and pulled until it all lay an inch from his skin, making him appear as if he was wearing a golden robe and hood. Chanting the last bit of the spell, which made the configuration permanent, Daphne stepped back and reached for the potion.

Not stepping into the star, she passed it to her boyfriend, gasping when their hands met. The energy surrounding him had her hair standing on end. It was almost painful, very much like the time she had tried to make her way through his mental walls. Withdrawing her hand quickly, she prayed that the potion would do its job.

After a few minutes she began to grow worried. Something should have happened by now. The potion had appeared perfect, a bright yellow that consistently bubbled and smelled of citrus, and Harry had downed the whole thing. Still though, nothing had happened. Five minutes passed, then ten. She was beginning to wonder if they were doomed when the light around Harry began to dim. Sighing in relief, she watched as Harry returned to his normal state, no obvious difference apparent in his appearance.

"How do you feel," she asked as he stepped out of the star.

"Fine," he responded. "It was weird for a bit there after I took the potion, almost like the energy was being sucked through me to the ground, but once it was over I felt perfectly normal. Do I look different at all?"

"No, not a bit. In fact if I didn't know better I'd say nothing had happened."

"Well, I suppose that's a good thing. I hope."

"Did it work," a nearby voice called out, belonging to Neville.

"Can we look now," Susan added.

"Hold on," he yelled, struggling to put his clothes back on. "Okay, you can look now. Not sure if it worked though. I'll have to try some wards." Daphne reached for her wand but Harry yelled, "No! Any wards here with ruin the ritual site. I'll have to walk back to the Hogwarts wards and see. I've already keyed myself out, which I didn't actually know I could do. Kind of cool, actually. Anyway, grab Gred and Forge and we'll go test it."

After gathering the twins, who'd reported that they'd only had to scare off a couple small game animals, they all trooped up to the Hogwarts wards.

"Alright, I've made it so none of us can enter. Nev, you want to make sure they're working?" Neville nodded and walked up to the invisible wards, only to be thrown backwards ten feet when he touched them. "Right then, I think that's a yes." Waiting until Neville had regained his footing, Harry crossed his fingers and walked towards the wards.

It felt like he was pushing through sludge. Putting one foot in front of the other, he slowly made his way forwards. After one step, then two, then three, the feeling suddenly gave way and he felt forwards. Standing, he brushed himself off and beckoned for Neville to try once more. When he stood inside and watched Neville being thrown backwards once more, he grinned. They'd done it, they were ward walkers now.

Whooping with delight, the group ran back to the ritual spot to do the next person.

It took hours, but finally, around midnight, the six on them were all able to walk through the wards even though they weren't keyed to them. Practically dancing in excitement, the group headed back towards the castle to get some much deserved rest. Waving goodbye to the twins at the gates, Harry and his three friends headed back towards the castle. Suddenly, though, Neville winked at Harry and split from the group, his girlfriend quickly following.

Realizing they were headed towards the greenhouses, and not her bed, Daphne gave her boyfriend a suspicious look but didn't comment. Harry, acting as innocent as a lamb, simply walked along next to her, enjoying the view. The air was cool and crisp and a full moon illuminated their steps and they walked towards greenhouse five.

"Harry," Daphne said warningly.

"Relax, Daph, can't a boyfriend treat his girl to a little something every now and then?"

"I suppose," she replied dubiously. Following her excited boyfriend, she stepped into the greenhouse and gasped. All around them bioluminescent roses were intertwined into archways, each leading further and further down the moonlit path. Walking slowly forwards, Daphne took in the beauty of her surroundings before stopping suddenly.

Somehow Harry had slipped away from her and was now kneeling in front of her holding a little black box, a little black _ring_ box.

"Daphne," he began, his voice strong and warm, "Over the past few years, or months, depending on your time stream, I've had the honor of getting to know the beautiful woman under that mask you wear so proudly. I've watched you grow and learn, I've seen your beauty and strength, I've discovered your dreams and your fears, and each day I've fallen even more in love with you. No matter what happens tomorrow, or the next day, or the day after that, I want you to know that it was you who's gotten me through the tough times, and you who I looked forward to during the good times. I want you more and more each day, forever and ever. I want to hold you now, and when I'm fifty, and when I'm one hundred and fifty. I want to love you each and every day of my life. I'm a part of your family now, but I want to make it official. Daphne Ophelia Greengrass, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

Daphne was stunned. She'd known he was keeping something from her, but his hadn't even crossed her mind. Suddenly it all clicked together: his 'other' package from the goblins, her father's visit, Neville's looks, it all made sense. The goblins had made the ring, and she had to admit it was truly beautiful. Harry had taken his mother's engagement ring, a silver band with a large diamond flanked by two emeralds, and had added to it, flanking each emerald with a brilliant blue sapphire to match her eyes. It was utterly perfect. Her father had obviously come to give his blessing, and Neville, well, who else could have made the greenhouse so utterly magnificent?

"Daphne?"

"Huh?" Her attention suddenly snapped back to her boyfriend, who was looking a little nervous.

"You haven't answered my question."

"Oh! Yes!"

"Yes," Harry echoed, a hopeful expression on his face.

"Of course yes! I'd love to be your wife!"

A great big grin broke out on both their faces as he slipped the ring onto her finger and brought her in for a kiss.

After a night of lovemaking, Daphne only had one thought: those DE's were going down tomorrow; no one was taking away _her_ Harry. No one.


	28. Taking the War to Them

Of all the days to sleep in, this was possibly the worst to choose. Harry and his friends had developed a strict schedule that they'd agreed to adhere to. They were to be up and running by seven am, showering and eating afterwards. By eight they would all meet in the ROR, where Fred and George would be waiting for them. Susan and Neville had agreed to get up even earlier and to scout the grounds of Malfoy Manor, Voldemort's headquarters and the location of the upcoming meeting. Afterwards the six of them would go over their plan of attack, incorporating any new inventions the pranking squad had put together and using the capabilities of the ROR to create a life-size model of their target.

Once they'd finished they were to split up, each pair having a different job to do. Harry and Daphne were going to speak to the families of the muggleborns who'd approached them and get them to Grimmauld Place, where Evelyn, Katie, and Narcissa would be waiting. They'd originally planned on waiting a little longer, but figured that after the attack today Voldemort would likely take his fury out on his weakest targets, and those were muggles that couldn't fight back.

While Harry and Daphne got the families safe and settled into their new homes, Fred and George would be laying time-delayed traps all around the Manor's grounds. They'd improved on their version of Portable Swamps and now had portable pits, which blended in with the surrounding ground and had sharpened sticks pointing up from the bottom, an impressive ten feet below, portable quick sand, which would suck in and suffocate unsuspecting victims, and even temporary laser nets that Lupin had adapted from a James Bond film. They were situated between two trees and activated by motion. Once turned on a fine beam of light that would cut up anything in its path would turn on, creating a deadly net of sorts. It was especially useful for bringing down the opposing aerial forces by tricking them to go through certain tree branches and other elevated things.

Back on Hogwarts grounds, Susan and Neville would be fulfilling their separate roles. Susan's job was to smuggle as many healing supplies out of the school as she could. She'd then move them to the shrieking shack, where the living room would be turned into a makeshift infirmary. It wasn't that they didn't trust Madam Pomphrey, but they weren't sure of her loyalties. After all, she had kept mum about the obvious signs of abuse from her constant patient (Harry) for over five years. Plus, their role in the attacks were to stay quiet for as long as possible. Even though Dumbledore had no magic, he still had friends that did.

Neville was going to be pairing up with Blaise to make sure the school was secured before they left. They'd put watchers on the known sympathizers and help to keep eyes on the most likely targets of said students, mainly muggleborns. Blaise himself was tasked with keeping the four's disappearance from the staff. Hopefully the elves would agree to help. The allied students were also the first line of defense in case the castle's defenses were breached in some way. It was a lot of pressure to put on just a few students, but they were confident that they could handle it.

When everyone had completed their tasks they would meet back in the ROR to bide their time until the attack. Snape was supposed to send them a signal when the meeting was called, but assured them that it wouldn't happen until after noon. Until they received that signal, all they could do was wait.

As said before, they'd had everything planned to a tee. Daphne had even written the schedule up on a big piece of parchment and color coded the assignments. Every one (of the six, that is) had received a copy with little notes in the margins just for them. Harry's said "I do", which made him grin like a madman every time. Unfortunately, it should have said "get up!" because when Harry opened his eyes Saturday morning and checked the time, the clock read 9:12am.

"Shit, Daph! We slept in!" Daphne, who'd been sound asleep beside him, jerked up rather abruptly, giving Harry a generous view of her unclothed chest.

"Huh? What?"

"It's 9:12! We're late!" Daphne looked at the clock and did a double take.

"Shit!" Jumping out of bed the two teens starting rushing around the room, throwing on their clothes and trying to cut their time down in the bathroom.

"I don't understand," Harry continued, "why didn't anyone wake us up?" Daphne's face paled at that.

"Umm, I think that might have been my fault."

"What?"

"Well, you know how last night, we…" Harry's answering grin assured her that he knew what she was implying. "Well, I might've brought the wards up to full strength and told the elves to leave us be so that we wouldn't be interrupted." She blushed at that, embarrassed that her record of punctuality and composure had been broken.

Harry just gave her an odd look before sticking his toothbrush in his mouth. Securing her belt, Daphne followed. Thirty seconds later they arrived at the ROR, panting and sloppily dressed. Susan's face met them as they walked in, taking on a relieved expression.

"They're here!" Immediately Neville and the twins ran in, relief on their faces. "Where on earth have you been?! We thought you'd been kidnapped! We tried the elves and the doors and even a patronus but nothing could get through!"

"Ummmm, well, Daphne, that is to say, we, umm, might've accidentally forgotten to take down our wards last night after I, umm, proposed. And then we might've gotten a little carried away and consequently slept in for a bit." Both Harry's and Daphne's faces were burning by then and Susan was slowly overcome by anger.

"You mean to say that we've been panicking all this time because you two put your wards up to make _nooky_?!"

"Umm, yah." Her face began to grow redder and redder until Harry feared she might explode. Opening her mouth, she drew a deep breath in and, surprisingly, began to laugh.

"You're not mad," a confused Harry asked after a few minutes.

"Oh, I'm furious," Susan replied between laughs, "but you have to admit, the looks on your faces were priceless!" Neville and the twins, who'd joined in her laughter, nodded in agreement.

"Erm, well, right then. Can you just catch us up on what you've been up to?"

"Sure, after all, we already know what you two were doing," Susan said suggestively, causing her two friends to blush some more.

"We're never going to live this down, are we," Daphne muttered. Fred and George each slung an arm over her shoulder and guided her to a chair.

"Nope," they both chirped happily.

"Great," Harry said glumly.

"Yup," Susan said brightly, falling onto the couch beside him. Neville plopped down on her other side and the meeting finally began.

"Alright," Susan started, "Now that everyone's here," she gave a pointed look at Harry and Daphne, "we can begin the meeting. While you two were sleeping," she gave them another look, "we were here getting actual work done. Neville and I used Snape's directions to get to Malfoy Manor. We'll side apparate you in after the meeting so that you know where to go. As we established last night, the wards gave us no problems so we could slip in quite easily. It was early enough where there wasn't anyone about, only two sleepy sentries that were easy to avoid. I expect that as the day goes on things will become more difficult."

After getting nods of confirmation Susan asked the ROR to create a 3D model of the manor about four feet by four feet and table high. Leaning over it, she began to explain the terrain.

"In the center of the wards lies the manor itself." She pointed to a dark grey building that stood four stories high and had several wings. It was decorated gaudily, which made sense for the Malfoy's. "Its front faces southwest, but the sun shouldn't be a problem since this attack isn't a stealth based one. As for the inside, our information is less solid. We didn't want to risk going in and possibly getting caught, but Snape has provided a map of the place that he's determined from all his times there. We'll have to rely on that." She nodded to Neville, who took over the explanation.

"Over here," he pointed about a foot south of the Manor, "Is a small creek about three feet wide and curves upwards later to border the Manor on the south and east sides. The current is weak but a few diagnostic spells showed that it's layered with traps and all sorts of nasties. Best to avoid stepping in the water. Getting over shouldn't be hard, though. Since they figure the wards will keep everyone out, there's no spells prohibiting flying on the grounds."

"There is, however, an alert spell for active magic," Susan added seriously. "Passive magic, like morphing into our forms or flying on a broom, won't set it off, but if someone performs a spell the owner of the manor is alerted."

"But didn't Lucius get throw in Azkaban after the DOM incident," Daphne asked?

"He bought his way out while Fudge was still minister. Snape says that he's been punished quite severely for his failure, though. As of now he's a prisoner in his own home, but he's there none the less," Susan explained.

"Besides, even if he isn't on the grounds, we can't be sure that he's the sole owner. He could have added snake face to the wards to try to save face," Neville added.

"Okay then, no active magic on the grounds. Got it. Does everyone have a broom?" Harry looked around to see everyone nodding their heads. "Are they any good," he asked, looking specifically to the twins. He knew that Daphne and Susan both had Nimbus 2001's and Neville had an old cleansweep, but he wasn't sure that the twins had been able to afford anything new, and by the looks on their faces they hadn't. "Dobby," Harry called, the little elf appearing soon after, "I need you to go to Diagon Alley and buy two new firebolts. Actually, better make that five." Dobby nodded and popped away.

All around him everyone began to protest. Holding up his hands, he explained his actions. "I don't care about the money. I'm filthy rich, it won't even make a dent in my funds. And it's completely necessary. The time may come when we need to make a quick getaway and flying is our only option. In that case I want you all to be fully prepared. If it bothers you that much you can pay me back later, but I won't be taking no for an answer."

Hesitantly, his friends quieted, thanking him when Dobby popped back in and passed out the brooms.

"You're welcome. Try to get on them at some point this morning, we should have time. You should be somewhat used to them before we head out. Keep them on you at all times, shrunken in a pocket or on a keychain. They may just save you in a pinch." His friends nodded and did as he asked. "Okay then, Neville, you were talking about the grounds. What kind of scale are we looking at?"

"Not sure what Sue asked for but the place is bloody huge. No wonder Malfoy acts the way he does, even Longbottom Manor isn't that ostentatious. You should pop in and look around yourself for a bit, preferably before noon. Back to the creek, though. It's surrounded by dense forest, thick enough to make seeing through it difficult, but not too thick to move through. The rest of the grounds are covered in similar vegetation all the way up until about two hundred feet to the manor, where an empty lawn sits. Well, empty expect for those stupid peacocks. I mean really, who on earth has peacocks as lawn ornaments?!"

"Anyway," Susan cut in, rolling her eyes at her boyfriend's antics, "That's the grounds for you. Pretty simple except for that last dash to the house. I figured we could probably go in disillusioned or in our forms. Everybody expect Harry is easily overlooked, and we can just toss an invisibility cloak over Saber."

"The main entryway is here, in the front," she pointed towards large double doors on the front of the model manor. "According to Snape, though, the death eaters enter through a side entrance, located here." She pointed to a single door on the Eastern side of the manor. "Given that, our best point of entry will be Creekside, further east." She drew her finger about two feet to the right and pointed to a small forest clearing. "This clearing is outside the wards, but just barely. There's no signs of it being guarded or of much through traffic. We'll apparate in, cross the wards, and fly over the creek to the edge of the lawn where we'll change into our forms. Any questions? No? Good."

She pulled out a moderately sized piece of parchment with house plans drawn on them and labelled in Snape's spiky handwriting. The first and second floors were drawn on the front and the third and fourth on the back. A separate piece of parchment contained the maps for the dungeons. She made another request of the room and a magnified view of the plans appeared on the nearest wall.

"As you can see," Neville began, "we shouldn't' need to travel far. The door open into a side hallway that connects further down with the main one. On the left are the formal sitting room and greeting area, where the front doors open into. On the right, behind closed doors, is a large ballroom. Luckily for us it's the first door on the right and is where the meeting will be held. All we have to do is make it thirty feet to the door. Rather unluckily for us, the only way out of that room will be the way we came in. I think it's obvious why you shouldn't stray too far from it."

After clarifying a few points it was the twins' turn to speak. Pulling out a large bag, they began unloading their products and explaining what each did and how each worked. There were a surprising number of new inventions, Harry's favorite being a grenade-like object that shot silver sparks twenty feet in one direction. He hoped to take out a few werewolves with that one, as well as some wizards. Susan's favorite was, predictably, a fragile sphere about the size of a snitch that held various colored potions. Upon breaking the casing (by smashing it on the floor, usually) the potion would be released. There was a potion to stick all shoes to the floor, another which gave off hallucogenic fumes, and a third that shrank anything that touched it to the size of a bludger.

Dividing up the weapons into belts that held multiple pouches that were bigger on the inside that the outside, the team finished the meeting and headed for the doors. They hadn't touched the handle yet when Severus's doe patronus entered the room.

' _3 o'clock_ ' was all it said before it dissipated. Nodding to each other, they left for their assignments with a new urgency in their step. They now had a deadline.

-line break-

Fred looked around the clearing they'd just entered in curiosity. George, he noticed, was still being sick from the side-apparition. Apparently Neville had never done it before. Poor, poor George. His own trip with Susan had gone much smoother.

"I always was the luckier twin," he said with a wistful sigh.

"The uglier one, two," George joked.

Fred looked thoughtful for a minute, then shrugged. "You can't have everything, I suppose."

"Wise words, Gred, wise words indeed."

"You done then, Forge? We've got a schedule to keep, after all." His twin shot him a look.

"Next time you get stuck with Neville." Fred gasped and held his hand to his chest in a dramatic pose.

"You wound me, dear brother!"

"I do try. Shall we head out, then?"

"We shall." Together each twin slung a bag over their shoulder and marched into the forest in sync. Those death eaters weren't going to know what hit them.

-line break-

"Mr. Creevey?" Harry was standing in front of a small blue house in a nice suburban neighborhood. Collin had described it to him in length, which had been both a blessing and a curse.

"Yes?" Mr. Creevey looked just like his sons, or rather, they looked just like him. They had the same facial structure, the same excited gleam in their eyes, and the same build.

"I'm Harry, Harry Potter. We're friends with your sons in school." Mr. Creevey's eyes lit up in recognition.

"Oh yes, my boys are always going on about you! Come in, come in! What brings you to my humble home? Shouldn't you be in school?"

"I'm afraid it's a bit complicated, Mr. Creevey."

"Please, call me Will. What's this about?"

"Is your wife around? I'd rather only explain once." Will seemed to have picked up that this wasn't a social visit and the twinkle slowly left his eye.

"Are my boys alright?"

"They're fine, Will, I assure you that they're well protected."

"All right then, I'll just go get Maggie. How long will you be? She's got appointments this afternoon."

"I'm sorry, sir, but I'm afraid she's going to have to cancel."

-line break-

"I'm telling you, she's up to something." Blaise and Neville were walking down the third floor corridor, doing rounds and subtly checking in with their allies.

"Pansy again," Neville asked, keeping his voice low to avoid being overheard.

"Yah, mate. I don't know what it is, but something feels off."

"In what way?"

"I can't put my finger on it, but I've never been more sure of anything in my life." Blaise looked at his friend seriously and could see that he was thinking.

"Who's her watcher?"

"Tracey, but her main priority is the Slytherin common room. Hannah's covering the owlery but many of the Slytherins have other means of communication. She's keeping an eye out for them."

"So if Pansy leaves the common room?"

"She's clear. We just don't have enough people to watch everyone all the time." Neville paused in his walking, clearly thinking hard.

"All right, mate, I believe you. If she is up to something, it's most likely going to happen today. Being prepared isn't necessarily a Slytherin thing, but I'm sure she won't want to mess anything up so it'd make sense that she gave things a once over just like we're doing now."

Blaise, following Neville's line of thinking, began to turn around. "Last I heard she was headed to the library. We can go check."

Neville pulled the Marauder's map out of his pocket and grinned. "Mate, there's no need for that. I don't believe you've been introduced to this little beauty yet, have you?" Blaise looked at it curiosly and shook his head. "Right then. I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good."

-line break-

"Oi, Forge, hand me that can of sticky spray. I want to fix one of the laser nets to this tree here."

"Here you go. I'm going to go bury some instant spiked pits on the edge of the woods and the entrance to one of the trails. When you're done can you set up the reversing charms?"

"Sure thing oh brother of mine."

"Right then. I always knew I was the saner twin."

"Yeah mate, but that's not saying much, now is it?"

-line break-

"Harry!" A small pink missile launched itself at the unsuspecting teen with great speed, toppling them over onto the couch. Upon further examination Harry found that the missile was, in fact, little Katie, dressed in a fluffy, bright pink dress that reminded Harry of a Disney princess.

"Katie! Or should I say _princess_ Katie?" Katie gave him a giggle and then a big hug.

"I've missed you!" Suddenly she was plucked from her perch on his back and swung around in a circle before being pulled into a hug, laughing all the while.

"What, no hugs for your sister," Daphne joked and she set Katie down, who immediately moved to hug her.

"I missed you too! Did you bring more people to play with?"

"Yup, this is the last of them." Over the last few hours they'd moved twenty adults and seventeen children into Grimmauld place, where Evelyn and Katie had greeted them with open arms. The biggest surprise was probably Narcissa, who could be found playing with the children, be they muggle or magical. In fact, they all called her Aunty Cissa and soon she'd amassed quite a fan club. Even Katie adored her.

"Oh good, I don't think we could fit that many more people in here."

"I'm sure we could, there's plenty of room upstairs after all. Are you going to be staying at home or here?"

"Mama Evie says I can stay here with Aunty Cissa and Mark."

"Who's this Mark?"

"He's my best friend!" The little girl then proceeded to introduce her to Mark, an adorable little boy around three years old with big brown eyes and dirty blond hair. Katie wasn't the only one to have claimed him as their own, Cissa seemed pretty taken with him as well and often walked around with him perched on her hip.

"Were there any that refused to come," Evelyn asked them quietly.

Harry nodded sadly. "A few, but they all agreed to have an elf check in on them from time to time. Some sent their kids but couldn't come themselves. Mark's mother couldn't leave her job, being a single working mother, but after we gave an oath she let us bring him here. We gave her a reusable portkey so she could come visit. It's tied to her with blood which, while illegal, works for our purposes."

"Good. We can only hope she'll be alright." Harry and Daphne nodded somberly in agreement.

-line break-

"Where are we," Blaise whispered to Neville. They were both crouched under Harry's cloak and creeping down the seventh floor corridor.

"You heard of the room of requirements?"

"I thought that was a myth."

"Nope, it's real. Don't know what Pansy and the bookends would want with it, but it can't be good."

"Quick, they're opening the door. Follow them!" They squeezed through the doorway just before it closed and examined their surroundings. The room was filled with junk, which ranged from furniture to books and to everything in between.

Unfortunately they didn't have much time to examine the place as Pansy and her shadows, Crabbe and Goyle, had headed off down an aisle of clutter.

"Perfect," she pronounced in her sharp voice. "Everything is as it should be. This afternoon the dark lord will finally conquer and we will finally take our rightful place at his right hand."

"Why would she want a cabinet," Neville whispered.

"Not sure, but anything she wants can't be good. She mentioned an invasion."

"Yah, I caught that. Let's bring it with us and see what Harry has to say." Waiting until Pansy finished her speech, they watched as the three students walked out of sight before quickly shrinking the cabinet and running after them, making it out just before the door closed and vanished.

"Alright, I'll head back to my rounds. You bring that to Harry."

"Alright mate, good luck."

"You too."

-line break-

"I've never seen this runic scheme before," Daphne muttered. The six of them were back in the ROR and looking over the recently acquired cabinet, having heard about Pansy's interest in it from Neville.

"Me either, but she was clearly looking at the cabinet and talking about an invasion of the school," Neville said.

"Alright, so it must act as some sort of passageway from outside the wards," Harry mused.

"Should we destroy it then," Susan wondered aloud?

"Why not use it to our advantage," Harry suggested.

"You mean go through it to the other side?"

"No, nothing that dangerous. If it acts as a passageway, people come out of it, right? So why not just set up some traps or have them walk off a cliff or something?"

"Oh, I have the perfect place to put it," Daphne said with an evil grin. Upon hearing her idea the others began to laugh.

"Oh, that's too perfect. Those DE's won't know what hit 'em!"

She grinned. "That's rather the point."

-line break-

It seemed like years passed before three o clock finally came around. The six teens had eaten, played on their brooms, strategized, joked, and paced to their hearts content. The suspense had been building all day, and it was at its maximum right then. As the clock chimed three times, the teens wished each other luck before apparating out of the castle. It was finally time to attack.

They appeared in the thankfully empty clearing and quickly mounted their brooms, speeding off to the forest's edge where they landed and changed into their forms. After checking that there were no sentries ("stupid, lazy wizards," Harry had muttered upon seeing this) they sprinted across the lawn and in through the doorway, which had been helpfully propped open by a certain Potions Master. They'd warned Snape to be at the very back of the room and to be ready to duck. In the end that advice would save his life.

Morphing back into their human forms, they stalked down the hallway and formed a circle around the doorway.

"Alright, keep your heads. We're here to do as much damage we can in as little time as possible. No heroics, no jokes, no foolishness. Just get in, cast as many hexes as you can, and then get out. Fred, George, take the right. Nev, take the left. Daph, you're with me. Cover each other's backs and get the hell out of here if you take a hit. Sue, stay towards the door and guard our backs. We might need you in healer mode real quick. We've planned this, practiced for this, and practically breathed this for months. We can do this, I know we can. So everybody take a deep breath and get ready. It's about to get messy," Harry finished with grim determination.

Turning to Daphne he pulled her into a passionate kiss, seeing through the corner of his eye that Nev and Sue were doing the same. Pulling apart, Harry set her shoulders, gave them a nod, and kicked the door down. Just like that, the battle had begun.

Harry burst into the room and immediately doubted himself. The room was practically a sea of black cloaks and white masks, each as creepy as the next. There were hundreds of wizards present, each with no regard to the lives of others. They were just six kids for Pete's sake. All this rushed through his brain in an instant, less than a second, before a flash of pink pulling him into the fray. Daphne, to his right, had fired off a ribbon cutter that took out the five closest death eaters. Snapping back to reality, Harry joined the fray, firing off several Bone breaking hexes in concert with Neville.

To his right Fred and George were lobbing potion balls up into the air to fall on unsuspecting DE's. In the middle of the black mass a purple potion instantly had the DE's shoes stuck to the floor. Those that tried to move tripped and fell, the rest of their bodies adhering to the floor as well. To the right of that group some DE's were beginning to hallucinate, green vapors surrounding them. Screaming at the visions only they could see, they began to fire curses around them, taking down their fellow members from the inside of the group.

In front of the teens half a dozen wizards were sinking into swamps and quicksand. Sue had laid down the traps in an arc around them, keeping the wizards at bay.

A movement out of the corner of his eye caused Harry to turn after sending another bombarda. A large king cobra was sneaking up on the nearest twin, preparing to strike. Taking his opportunity, Harry cast the strongest cutting hex he knew, smirking in satisfaction when it removed Nagini's head from her body. Voldemort was now mortal.

They had been shooting curses unhindered for about fifteen seconds now and had taken out a good thirty death eaters for sure. The room was full of screaming and yelling as the wizards struggled to comprehend the attack and then to fight back. Another ten seconds passed before a jet of green flashed out of the crowds towards the attackers. Harry easily dodged and sent a gouging hex back at the wizard.

Unfortunately for Harry the other DE's seemed to follow their friend's example and began to return fire. However, they were so disorganized that the hexes were sloppy and easily dodged. Not deeming them a threat, the teens continued sending curses into the crowd. A large bang signified that Fred, or was it George, had set off one of the silver grenades. A hole appeared in the ranks towards the back left of the room and the DE's began to panic.

The panicking caused a surprising bonus for the teens. Having nowhere to turn, the wizards began shoving at each other in an attempt to dodge or escape. This resulted in them either getting pushed into the path of an oncoming spell or even getting trampled if they fallen or gotten stuck. A good fifteen men fell to this internal attack.

Suddenly a cutting curse grazed Harry's cheek and George, or was it Fred, gave a cry, his ankle having been broken. Deciding that it was time to get out of there, Harry gave the signal and they began to fall back. Sealing the door behind them they sprinted down the hallway and out onto the lawn, George carrying his twin thanks to a featherlight spell. A few traps tossed over there back combined with the pandemonium they'd left behind them ensured that they safely made it to the tree line where they hopped on their brooms and made a clean getaway, apparating as soon as they exited the wards. As they left, Harry could swear he heard Voldemort screaming behind him.

-line break-

A quick stop at the shrieking shack ensured that everyone was in perfect health. Calming draughts and dreamless sleep were distributed for later use, and the teens split once more, Fred and George to their store and the students back to the castle. They'd have to process the actions they'd made and the lives that they took, but in the end one thing was clear: the grey side had finally entered the war, and the dark side would be feeling it for quite a while.


	29. Results at last

A/N: Hello all, I'm back and doing just fine. Don't have any chapters pre-written, but I do have a general plan of how the story is going to end. I'd count on maybe 3 more chapters, give or take one or two. I'm going to finish the story before going back through and updating the chapters with the ones my muse helped me with (fixing basic grammar mistakes and the like). Shouldn't be too much longer, though! R + R, I love to hear feedback. Thanks for sticking with me!

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The shrieking shack was once again full as the members of the alliance met to discuss the previous night's attack. Even the students were there, still yawning after leaving their beds at such an early hour. Harry had wanted to call the meeting before the news broke and people became suspicious. Blaise had reported that no one had noticed their absence, but there was always the possibility that someone would figure it out.

Yawning himself, Harry stood and tried to shake the sleep out of his eyes. He and his friends had slept exceptionally well thanks to Dreamless sleep potion, but that same potion also left one feeling groggy upon wakening. Having taken it before, Harry knew that those effects would wane within the hour and was rather looking forward to it.

Swallowing another yawn, he shook his head once more and called the meeting to order.

"Good morning everyone, thank you for coming, especially at this hour." Bleary eyes glared at him in response. "Right, I know it's early but I promise you that what I have to say is important. Yesterday a group that consisted of me, Daphne, Susan, Neville, Fred, and George attacked Malfoy manor in what was the first move of the grey party."

The faces surrounding him suddenly looked more awake as the importance of the situation penetrated their tired minds. Several who had already known of the attack, such as Blaise and Snape, were simply nodding, while others who hadn't known but had noticed some strange events were slowly beginning to understand.

"The six of us had heard of a mass gathering of death eaters at said location and had begun to plot a stealth attack that would hopefully diminish the Dark Nutter's numbers. Apparating nearby and crossing through the wards, we snuck into the ballroom of Malfoy Manor where we were met with a mass of almost three hundred death eaters. Not waiting for an invitation, we instantly attacked, going for maximum damage. When they finally began to regroup and respond, we fled, taking only minimal injuries that have since been healed. The aftermath will be reported to us for the first time by Professor Snape."

Harry nodded to the dark haired professor, who stood and began to recount the aftermath of the attack.

"I had been warned a week in advance that the Dark Lord was planning to take advantage of the removal of Dumbledore from office in order to wreak havoc on the magical world. Unfortunately he has grown slightly paranoid and refused to tell us the time and location of the meeting until the day of the attack. Being a member of the inner circle, I was at least made aware that the meeting would be at Malfoy Manor and passed this information along. When the call came to assemble at three o clock, I passed that along as well.

Before the attack the Dark Lord was just getting into his attack plans. He was going for multiple big name targets at one time. These included St. Mungos, the Ministry, and Hogwarts."

"How was he planning on getting through Hogwarts' wards," Cyrus asked curiously?

"He had been made aware of a set of vanishing cabinets that created a pathway between each other. One piece was located in Borgin and Burke's in Knockturn alley, the other somewhere inside Hogwarts. He had charged several students with fixing the cabinet on their side."

"So that's what they were up to," Blaise exclaimed. Seeing the curious looked aimed towards him he explained further. "I noticed a while ago that Pansy and her ilk, that's Crabbe and Goyle, by the way, seemed like they were up to something. They were entirely too cocky for the situation. I'd been watching her all week but hadn't discovered anything new. Then, yesterday, Neville presented me with a way to follow them undetected and we stalked them up to the room of requirements.

Inside we found them surrounding a wooden cabinet and discussing its importance for the upcoming invasion. We had no idea what it did, mind, but couldn't risk leaving it there so we shrunk it and brought it to Harry and the others. They didn't know what it did either. I'd never even heard of a vanishing cabinet before. Are they rare?"

Snape nodded. "Very. It was pure luck that the Dark Lord happened upon a complete pair. It'd been sitting in the shop for years collecting dust, useless without it's pair, when one of the children of the Death Eater's reported seeing a similar cabinet in Hogwarts. While he is crazy, the Dark Lord most certainly is not stupid, and he quickly put two and two together."

"I'm assuming it didn't work, given that Hogwarts wasn't attacked last night," Amelia said.

Snape scowled at her impatience. "I'm getting to that." The monocle witch remained unaffected by his glare and motioned for him to continue, which he did after a short pause. "Right, the attack. He was just describing how he'd get into the ministry, through the public floos, by the way, when the door burst open and those six," he waved his hand towards Harry and his friends, "started casting left and right."

"The Dark Lord was furious and moved to respond when he was pushed to the floor by a scrambling wizard." By the smirk on Snape's face, that wizard had had some assistance in that motion. "Thanks to an ingenious potion of my own invention and the carrying container devised by the twins, the Dark Lord subsequently found himself stuck to the floor face first." Gales of laughter rang around the table as Snape painted the humorous image, smirking smugly the entire time.

"So there he is, stuck face first to the floor with no nose to break his fall and only a tiny corner of his mouth able to take in air. Stupidly the idiot tries yelling for help, only for some unnamed wizard," he smirked again, "to 'accidentally' stomp on the back of his head. Who knew that he was that easy to silence?" The laughing had only increased around the table and some were now gasping for air. "What was even more amusing was that everyone was so afraid to wake him that they just left him there, foregoing an enervate for the natural process." Harry was now on the floor, Neville close behind him, both clutching their stomachs and crying tears of laughter.

"Yes, well, it was a full hour before he woke, and another before the sticking spell wore off. Then he pops up and in his anger takes out a dozen of his followers before realizing that he probably couldn't afford that, what with recent losses."

Slowly the laughter died down and the group grew somber. While the situation had been amusing, no one had forgotten that six children had been forced to kill that night. That was six souls forever scarred by the burden of taking another life. It was Amelia that asked the question they all wanted answers to.

"How many?"

Snape seemed to sense the gravity of the situation and made his face into a neutral mask. Looking Amelia dead in the eye, he replied, "Ninety seven in battle. Thirteen were trampled to death while stuck to or fallen on the floor. Another dozen were killed by their fellow wizard who were hallucinating. The silver grenade took out twenty four. The Dark Lord killed another dozen when he awoke. Twenty seven were killed instantly by curses from the attackers and another nine succumbed to their injuries before help could be obtained. Another fifty were injured in the fray but survived.

In addition to this, the Dark Lord was furious that he had been bested by Potter and sent as many able followers as he could through the cabinets. It's estimated that another thirteen were lost before the others realized something was wrong and fled backwards through the tunnel, only to be met with the Dark Lord's wand. He killed another four when he heard that news. We still aren't sure what happened to them." He sent a questioning look at Harry, who surprisingly enough looked to Ragnok in response.

Ragnok grinned ferally and told them all that, "our dragons were most happy with their meal. It had been ages since they'd been given wizards as a treat."

Silence reigned for a few moments. "You…fed them to the dragons?" Lupin looked confused and a little disgusted.

"Yes," Ragnok replied. "We were contacted that morning by an owl bearing a shrunken cabinet along with a note explaining that the cabinet in questioned was believed to be a threat to the safety of Hogwarts. We were asked to put it somewhere where it could be monitored safely. Unlike you wizards, we immediately recognized it for what it was and connected the dots. Ironfist had the lovely idea to set it up in front of the dragon pens. Later in the afternoon several wizards came charging out, wands drawn, only to instantly be barbequed." He turned to Neville. "You'll be pleased to note the Bellatrix Lestrange was leading the charge and was deemed delicious by a very happy Norwegian Ridgeback."

Neville's face was a stoic mask, but Harry could see tears gleaming at the corner of his eyes as he nodded to the goblin in thanks.

"So that was what, one hundred and ten death eaters when all was said and done?"

"Yes," Snape said, nodding, "with a few more expected to drop off overnight from critical injuries. In addition several more fell to the various traps spread about the property while pursuing the fleeing attackers. I personally shoved Dolohov into a spiked pit," he said with a touch of pride.

Cyrus whistled in appreciation. "A third of his forces, gone in one night."

Here Snape shook his head. "Not quite. There were only wizards and werewolves in that room. His army of creatures was undamaged. I imagine he'll be looking to beef up those numbers now that he has less wizards."

"And what kind of creatures are we talking about?"

Snape shrugged. "Giants, trolls, werewolves, vampires, dementors, the usual nasties. Rumor has it he even managed to recruit a nundu."

"Vampires, you say," Ragnok asked in concern?

"Indeed. Quite a few of them, actually. He's managed to convince an entire clan to join him, however many that may be."

"Depends on the clan," Ragnok replied. "You didn't by any chance happen to catch their name?" Snape shook his head. "Damn. Very well, we shall look into this. We are on better terms with most creatures than you wizards anyway." A round of nods met his statement.

"Very well, is there anything else to be addressed here today," Cyrus asked.

"What about the legalities," Blaise asked.

"All six of them are officially reserve aurors," Amelia began. "Since the death eaters are an illegal group known to use deadly curses on innocents and they themselves caused a majority of the damages, I'm inclined to rule that they were acting within the interests of their jobs and their country and as such will face no legal or disciplinary measures." The entire group gave a collective sigh at that statement and a tension that no one had recognized flew out of the room.

"However," Amelia began, "I expect to be notified in the future of any planned attacks. Susan can attest to my dislike of surprises." Susan nodded vigorously at that. Her aunt absolutely _hated_ being surprised and wasn't afraid to let you know it.

"Right then, if there's nothing else I'll need to get to work. Ragnok, I'm assuming you'll be splitting the vaults of those killed with the ministry?"

"Only for those not killed on Gringotts soil. For those killed by our dragons, their entry into the bank was illegal and therefore punishable by goblin law. We will confiscate their fortunes and inform their heirs. In all other cases, though, current law states that the goblin's take thirty percent and the ministry forty, leaving thirty for any surviving family."

"Excellent. I'll get the paperwork started. In the meantime I encourage you six," she looked at her niece and her friends, "to talk to somebody, anybody, about what happened last night. Taking a life can be traumatic for anybody and keeping things bottled up inside won't help. I think I speak for all of us when I say that you can come to me or anyone here with your concerns and feelings." The entire room nodded in agreement, even Snape, and it was on that show of support that the meeting ended.

By unspoken agreement, the group of six headed back to Hogwarts and made their way to the ROR. Amelia was right, they needed to talk about what they'd done, not because they could be affected by it, but because they'd need to do it again, possibly several times over.

Hogwarts seemed to know what they needed for when they arrived in the seventh floor corridor a door was already present. Shaking off the oddity the teens piled inside to find a warm cozy den with plush sofas surrounding a roaring fireplace. Still lost in their thoughts the teens absently sunk down onto the furniture and stared into the fire. Many minutes passed in contemplation before one of them spoke.

"One hundred and ten," Susan said clearly, no discernible emotion present. Neville, who was by her side and had his arm curled around her shoulders, nodded. "Do we have a list of who?"

Harry nodded and pulled a piece of paper out of his back pocket. Snape had slipped it to him before the meeting that morning but he hadn't had the chance to examine it yet. Flicking it forwards, he asked the room to project it onto the wall. A screen appeared in front of the fire with the list of names on it. The size was staggering.

"Recognize anyone," Fred, or was it George, asked the room. Well, he'd been addressing the people in the room, but it seemed the ROR didn't interpret it that way. In response to their question a name was highlighted, the third name down on the list: Lucius Malfoy.

"That's one of the inner circle down," Harry said solemnly.

Another name was highlighted, the black ink once more shining gold: Alecto Carrow.

"And there's another," Daphne added.

Slowly the show continued, names shining out of the parchment one by one, each recognized by the students.

Marcus Flint.

Alexander Yaxley.

Bellatrix Lestrange.

Fenrir Greyback.

Antonin Dolohov.

Garrett Goyle.

Carle Crabbe.

Nikoli Nott.

Peter Parkinson.

The list went on and on and on. And then something new began to appear. Newspapers, and old ones at that, highlighting the reign of terror when Voldemort was at his prime back during his first rise joined the list of names on the wall. Bits of those began to highlight as well.

 _Bellatrix Lestrange was indicated to be involved in the murder of a young mother and her eight year old daughter, who was forced under the Imperious to bludgeon her mother to death before being hit by a killing curse._

 _Lucius Malfoy was suspiciously missing from his own gala last night which coincided with the anniversary of You-Know-Who's rise to power. Over the course of the night seventeen muggles were raped and tortured. This paper refuses to print the specifics of their fates in order to avoid traumatizing readers._

 _Fenrir Greyback attacks muggle orphanage, kills ten and infects another eight. Two more expected to die from injuries. All were under the age of thirteen._

 _Yaxley implicated in the rape and murder of young half-blood socialite Rebecca Jones._

 _Lestranges attack Diagon Alley, kill thirty seven including expecting mother._

And the list went on and on and on. The room, it seemed, had been keeping a tally. One mark was put next to each name for each person they'd killed. As the papers grew more modern the tallies grew. It seemed that the castle was using outside knowledge as well since some names on the list that had tallies weren't mentioned in the papers at all. Daphne suspected that it had taken the knowledge spoken between students and staff.

It took almost an hour to get through the entire list and the results spoke for themselves. Every name on the list had at least one tally next to their name. Bellatrix Lestrange had one hundred sixteen; Neville had counted. Harry had counted the total tallies. There were hundreds. And each one was a person with a family and someone who loved them. Susan's parents were up there, so were Neville's. Fred and George's uncles were featured. Each of them recognized at least a dozen of victims' names, but for every one they did there were ten that they didn't. The muggles hadn't been investigated thoroughly since the wizarding world had enough to deal with on its plate.

"What do you see when you look at that," Susan asked finally.

It was Harry who answered. "I see one hundred and ten people that will never be able to take another life and add to the tally that's already too high. I see families and victims finally being avenged. I see death and pain and know that people can finally live without the fear that the names on that list will come for them. I don't see murder or morals or ethics. I don't see inner struggles and tainted kids. I see justice. And that's enough for me."

"I see a list of people that can never make another child an orphan," Susan said strongly.

"I see the woman who's frightened me all my life finally getting her due. I see my parent's being vindicated. I see their faces smiling down at me in my crib and not the ones in the hospital. I see what could have been, and that it's possible for someone else now," Neville said, tears in his eyes.

"I see victory for the grey side, a strike against evil, evidence that what we're doing is working," Daphne added.

"We see death eaters getting what's coming to them," Fred began, "and death eaters we still need to get," George finished.

"So it's decided," Harry asked seriously, "We continue our game plan, continue taking lives, in the hopes that we can end this war without adding to those tallies?"

He received five nods in return.

"Alright, then it's time to get down to business. Let's talk battle plans."

-line break-

The story broke the next day with the Prophet blaring the news loud and clear. Over one hundred death eaters had been killed in a massive attack by unknown forces. The bodies had been found when the goblins had gone to Malfoy Manor to retrieve Black family heirlooms that had been part of Narcissa's dowry. Every single body had a dark mark. It was a marked victory for the light, and one that caused much speculation. Just who were the attackers, and who did they represent? Should the public fear them or support them? What was the ministry's response? And how close was the war to ending?

Panicked yet hopeful, the public began to stir, buzzing with excitement. They may not approve of how it had occurred, but great strides had been made that day and they were cautiously hopeful that life would return to normal soon.

-line break-

Around the castle another scene was happening. As the public outside stirred in excitement, it was a different emotion that students, especially those at the slytherin table, faced. As the prophet was delivered students with ties to the darker forces began to nervously read the list of those killed, scanning for family members and loved ones. While their peers celebrated a marked victory for the light, some students quietly began to weep. At least six Slytherins had lost a parent or sibling and many more an uncle or family friend. The headmistress would slowly call them up after the morning meal to discuss the occurrence and their futures. She had Harry's blessing to offer asylum to all who needed it. They could take care of the details later.

As always, there was a third side to things. Harry and his peers watched their fellow students' reactions closely, noting witch ones seemed the most distressed and, most importantly, which ones didn't. They anticipated that requests for asylum would begin to flow in. And indeed, it was only a few hours later when Blaise Zabini was approached by Theodore Nott. Uncertain as to his true allegiances Blaise had scheduled a meeting between the Slytherin and the fearsome foursome (the name made him cringe but he had to admit that it was catchy). That night after dinner Nott arrived at the door to an unused classroom on the third floor to find four of his peers watching him with interest.

Going with what he was most familiar with, he turned to his fellow Slytherin and began to speak.

"Look, I'm not an idiot. It's pretty obvious that you either were the attackers last night or that you know who is. I'm really here to say thank you. My father was a horrible, abusive ass and the world's a lot better off without him." The four simply stared at him, waiting for a question. "That being said, I thought I'd give you some information to pass along. My father was a paranoid man who hated banks. We didn't even have a Gringotts account until I started school. Instead all the family fortune was kept in a vault at a cottage in France. Now that my father's gone, I'm assuming some people are going to be attempting to retrieve it." His point was clear: Voldemort knew about the money and wanted it badly.

"And what do you want in exchange for the address," Daphne asked, following her year mate's thinking.

"Safety for my mother and sister. My mother has never supported my father's ideals and my sister is too young to understand what's going on. You put out the word that you could offer safety. I'm here to cash in."

"And the money in the vault?" Nott shrugged.

"I have enough holed away to support my family until I get a job. If you can get to it, it's yours." The four teens exchanged looks, mentally considering the situation. Finally they broke apart and Daphne nodded.

"We're not thugs nor are we poor; we don't want your money. We do acknowledge, however, that the situation presents a golden opportunity. That being said, we accept your offer. You give us the address, we'll move your family to a safe house. Furthermore, if you make an oath that you won't use the money to support the Dark Lord or his supporters, we'll make sure it makes its way into your vault."

Theodore nodded in agreement and made a wizard's oath never to support the Dark Lord in any way. Satisfied, the teens relaxed and got to work. They didn't want to keep the purebloods with links to the DEs in the same safe house as the muggleborns' families so they'd decided to rent out a series of muggle cottages in various countries and had the goblin's ward them heavily. Since this family was small they decided on a small cottage on the French Riviera. Harry gave Nott reusable portkeys keyed to his blood. They would only recognize direct family and work for them. Satisfied, Nott handed Harry a slip of parchment with the address of his father's vault house and went on his way.

The four teens looked at each other and grinned. They had their next target, and it was the perfect spot for an ambush, or if that wasn't feasible, a booby-trap.

-line break-

While discussing war plans earlier the previous day, the team had decided that a series of short but quick attacks would be the best plan. This would greatly damage the enemy and keep them recovering constantly while providing the safest option for the team. The sooner they left, the less chance of being injured.

In fact, Harry had broached the idea of revisiting Malfoy Manor the very next day and taking out anyone stupid enough to hang around. That idea was nixed by Daphne, who assured them that the goblins had searched the manor thoroughly in their hunt for any Black heirlooms and had reported no signs that the DEs were still staying there. It seemed that the attack had shaken their faith in the Manor's safety and they had moved their headquarters to a different location. Upon hearing that Harry made a note to talk to Narcissa about retaking the manor. If it was left to her or in her name they could possibly take it for their own and ward it so no previous tenants (cough cough Voldemort) could find it.

When he voiced his idea it got the others thinking. "You know," Neville began, "not all the wizards killed had heirs to pass houses to. We could see about buying up any properties that suddenly appear on the market. I bet Ragnok would even give us a deal on them."

"But don't we have enough properties already," Harry responded.

"Yes, but think how insulting it would be if the manors the pureblood bigots were so proud of were suddenly used to house the very people whose existences they hated. It'd be a right kick in the bollocks."

"Not to mention it would make a great statement," Susan added, thinking politically.

"After the war we could give them to families who lost their homes and fortunes in the war," Daphne added, the idea gaining her support.

"We could also sell all the stuff in them or even the properties themselves and use the profits for snake faces victims," Neville said.

"Alright," Harry said, convinced. "I'll owl Ragnok and ask him to buy up any properties that became available due to our attack. We can pay the goblins to remove any dark artifacts and to add new wards. Push comes to shove we can simply use them for storage or whatnot."

This conversation was still strong in their minds when Theodore Nott left with his knew portkeys.

"You know, I was planning on blowing the place up at first, but it just occurred to me that we could use the cottage holding the Nott money for our real estate takeover," Harry mused.

"Alright, so you want to ward it and be done with it or risk losing it in an attack," Daphne asked.

Harry though for a few moments before responding. "Let's risk it. The DEs are still weak and Voldemort will probably try for the money soon to bolster spirits. He'll be on guard but not too much since the cottage is supposedly a secret. Given that, he'll probably send a small but strong team to get the gold. I say we have something else waiting for them instead."

His response was met with three feral grins.

"Let's do it".

-line break-

Fred and George were geniuses, they truly were. The cottage had been exactly were Theodore had said it would be and was full of piles and piles of galleons. It wasn't even that heavily protected. The building itself was warded to hell and back, but the gold was untouched. The newly dubbed Ward Walkers were able to walk in, gather up all the galleons, and walk out. Then Fred and George went to work.

First they ripped up the floor, banishing the wooden planks away and exposing the cement cellar. In a grid pattern they then set up portable spike pits until the entire floor surface was covered. Then they transfigured weak plywood floors that looked like the originals and laid it in place. They charmed it so that when a group of three or more people (or three separate entities that each weighed more than 100lbs) stood on it, it activated a time delayed banisher. In ten seconds the floor would vanish. They figured that was long enough for the DEs to discover that all the gold in the cabin had been replaced with Leprechaun gold, which vanished when you touched it.

The best part, though, was a gravity charmed that they had invented. They lovingly called it "the vortex". When cast it sucked anything and everything in the vicinity towards a certain focal point, mimicking the pull of gravity. With another time delay charm the twins ensured that everyone on the property would be sucked ten feet about the fake floor. Then, when the charm ended, well, no one would be getting out alive. A simple alert ward on the floor would signal that the trap had been sprung. The twins would then pop over, banish the bodies (or send them to the ministry, they weren't too sure yet), and then reset the whole thing. The six of them had bets on how many times it would take before the DEs became wise enough to avoid the trap. The lowest bet was for three tries (after all, Susan was still a Hufflepuff at heart).

-line break-

Albus Dumbledore read the Daily Prophet in stunned silence. Potter and his friends had killed over one hundred death eaters in one night. That was just impossible. Perhaps they had used dark spells? But no, Potter would never turn to the dark. Dumbledore may have often said otherwise, but he was a politician and a horrible human being. Lying was just what he did.

Still, this news was troublesome. Dumbledore needed to be the one that killed Voldemort, to prove that he was still the leader of the light and that he was what the wizarding world needed. Then he could kill the Potter boy, killing the horcrux as well and ending Voldemort for good. To do this, however, he needed his magic back. That brat had convinced the court to block it from him, but Dumbledore was no fool. He knew that if they had a good enough reason they would release the bindings and return his magic to him. And he knew exactly what he needed to do in order for that to happen….

-line break-

As Dumbledore slipped out in the night, on his way to set his evil plan in motion, Hermione Granger tripped over a book in the library and fell onto her knees. Cursing her clumsiness she stood, only to stop halfway as something caught her eye. It was a stack of papers, simply clustered together and peeking out from behind a book that obviously hadn't been touched in years. Her curiosity getting the better of her, she pushed the book aside, absently wiping the dust on her robes, and leafed through the pile of papers. Slowly her eyes grew larger and larger until her resemblance to a house elf was almost comical. This was what she had been looking for, what she needed. But wait, did that say…no, it couldn't be…snatching a yellowing piece of parchment from the pile, she rushed back towards her study carol, pushing her books aside. This needed to be investigated more thoroughly. She couldn't stand to make a fool out of herself again, couldn't stand to let Harry down again. If she was right, though, which she almost always was, this was going to change the entire face of the war. She just knew it.


	30. Hermione

The next few weeks passed in a blur of attacks. Ragnok had sent Harry the results of his research, providing the names and addresses of both known and suspected DEs along with monetary supporters. Fred and George lovingly referred to it as "Harry's Hit List". They'd organized the list according to priority. The known and more violent DEs were placed at the top while the silent supporters, who were least destructive, were placed at the bottom. Following this they hatched out a schedule of when they could do reconnaissance and when they could do the actual attack. Times varied from shared breaks during the day to midnight patrols to weekend trips and everything in between. They were going to a lot of effort to not establish a pattern so that anticipating attacks was more difficult for their targets. And damn, was it working well.

Throughout all of November thirteen homes and two pubs were attacked resulting in the death of thirty two DEs and the capture of an additional twenty seven. Amelia was happily pouring veritassium down their throats and shipping them off to Azkaban or through the veil, whichever they deserved the most. The goblins had been happy to negotiate a deal with the ministry and were now being paid to ward and guard the terrifying prison. Voldemort would have a hard time retrieving any followers from them this time.

The response to these results was overwhelming. Wizarding Britain had quickly gotten past its fear of the new vigilante group and was openly supporting them. It helped that Harry owned the paper that reported on their activities, but still, most of the response was genuine. Visual results were occurring, led by the government no less, who had killed and/or captured an additional forty DEs on their own. Hope was running rampant through the towns as the Prophet blared that if things continued at this rate, the war would be over by years end. Speculation was high as to who the vigilantes were, but so far no one had guessed correctly, at least out loud. McGonagall and Flitwick had been surprisingly generous in looking the other way whenever the teens broke curfew or were late to their classes. If they smelt healing potions or saw blood specked shoes, they simply looked the other way.

Not everything was going so well for everyone, though. Voldemort was bloody miserable. Almost all of his forces had been killed or captured and those damn creatures were preventing him from retaking them. If he'd had enough men he'd have attacked the prison, but as it stood he simply couldn't assemble enough manpower to overcome the current security. Curse those goblin scum!

In addition to this his followers were all terrified. Somehow Potter and his little vigilante group were crossing some of the strongest wards in existence, even the Fidelus, with seemingly little effort and attacking his followers in their own homes. Voldemort himself had had to move his location three more times due to recent attacks.

On top of all of that, he was flat out broke. He refused to think too much about what happened at Nott's cottage because thinking of it sent him into a rage and he simply couldn't afford to kill any of his remaining followers in that rage. He couldn't even torture them too much for fear that they would flee. In fact, several had already fled his service. He would track them down when he regained his previous numbers, but for now he could do nothing. He couldn't even pay for food. He'd been counting on the Nott money but it had vanished into thin air after luring some of his best servants, including Pettigrew, to their deaths. He'd lost nine followers before catching on to the traps in place. In his rage he'd burned the cottage to the ground but it was too late, the money was gone and so were his followers. All he had left were a handful of wizards too scared to sleep and a bunch of monstrous beasts that refused to show him proper respect. He needed a victory badly, and he needed it soon.

-line break-

Hermione needed to talk to Harry right away. Her research had revealed some shocking information that was sure to either make or break the war. She knew he didn't trust her anymore, and she understood. Hell, she wasn't sure she trusted herself either right now. She'd gotten caught up in her jealously and blind respect for authority and had lost the only true friend she'd ever had. She deserved a lot worse than being shunned by Harry and his new friends and she'd be the first to say that. The problem was, what she'd discovered was important, really important, and she'd be damned if she let Harry down again.

This is why she burst into the Headmistress's office on the Morning of November 30th disrupting a small meeting between McGonagall, Flitwick, and Snape. Panting from the effort of sprinting all the way from the library to the office, she waved a parchment around her head and gasped out, "Need… to see … Harry!"

The headmistress stood, looking shocked and insulted by the actions of the young lady in front of her. "Miss Granger, what on earth do you think you are doing?! Barging in lie you own the place and demanding to see-"

"-it's important," she yelped, cutting the headmistress off to the obvious shock of those present. "Like, life or death important! Harry needs to see this now!"

McGonagall opened her mouth to respond but Snape beat her to it. "Miss Granger, while I pay little attention to the teenage melodrama that surrounds me, I do recall that you and Mr. Potter had a falling out. Life and death or not, I very much doubt he will listen to you either way."

A brief flash of hurt and guilt crossed Hermione's face before it was overcome with determination. "Then you take it to him. He'll listen to you, or the headmistress. He doesn't have to know I was involved at all. Just please, tell me where he is."

McGonagall stared at her for a moment before responding. "I'm afraid he's currently away on business, Ms. Granger. He should return to the castle by mid-afternoon."

"Shoot," she said. She'd known it was a Wizengamot day and that Harry would be leaving for the meeting, but she hadn't thought he'd head out this early. "Please, professors," she begged, "I know I don't deserve his trust, or yours for that matter, I'm not blind to my previous actions and their consequences. But I'm begging you, _please_ , I need to see him _right now_. Afterwards you can do what you like, give me detention, throw me in Azkaban, I don't care, but I _need_ to go to him."

McGonagall looked at her for a moment, then surprisingly to Flitwick, who nodded, and then to Severus, who nodded much more reluctantly. "I hate to say it, but Potter can handle himself one way or another."

"Very well," McGonagall replied primly. "I will allow you to use my floo straight to the ministry, but I want to make it clear that you and only you are responsible for any consequences of your actions."

Hermione sagged in relief. " _Thank you._ "

"I wouldn't thank us quite yet," Snape replied with grim humor as Hermione took a hand full of floo powder, "I've seen what Ms. Greengrass constitutes as revenge. I wouldn't be too relieved if I were you." The last thing he saw was Hermione's unsettled face as the roar of green flames took her away.

-line break-

Harry really hated these robes. They were itchy and stiff and ridiculously uncomfortable. He'd rip them off and burn them if he could, but Daphne would probably kill him. Not to mention, they'd cost a bloody fortune. Still, all this pomp and circumstance wasn't what he needed right now. He was sure today's meeting would address his group's actions, and the last thing he wanted to sit through was a lecture on morals and speculation on the "mysterious vigilantes". He didn't need to be here anyway. Amelia was doing a great job cleaning up the ministry and Harry and his friends were doing severe damage to the DEs. The war was going well on both fronts and today was one of his rare days off. He just wanted to curl up with Daphne and ignore the rest of the world for a day. But no, his training held firm (and Daphne held even firmer, wink wink nudge nudge) so here he was, waiting in the hallway in his overdone robes making small talk with people whose names he didn't know.

Daphne seemed to sense his frustration and came to hover by his side, looping her arm through his and displaying her engagement ring for all to see. She still grinned dopily at it every time she saw it and just couldn't resist showing it off. The last month had gone wonderfully and she was riding the emotional high that it had brought.

Her high came crashing down when the last person she wanted to see right now came charging at her fiancé, gasping a demand for a meeting like they owed her something.

-line break-

Finally she'd found them. She been spit out of the floo into the ministry atrium before realizing that she had no idea where to go. Still, that hadn't deterred her. She'd headed straight to the elevators and read the listings until she hit upon the department of magical law enforcement. After scouring that floor for someone who knew where the Wizengamot met, she made her way back to the elevators and through the maze of the ministry until she found the entrance to the courtroom. Then of course she realized that Harry probably used a difference entrance and took off down some back hallways, avoiding the aurors patrolling the area.

Finally she'd found him making small talk with some nameless faces. Gathering the last of her energy, she sprinted up to him, ignoring the glare being leveled at her by the woman on his arm.

"Harry," she gasped, "I need to talk to you."

-line break-

Harry's watch beeped, indicating that he had five minutes before the meeting began, and he sighed with impatience. He just so wasn't in the mood for this. A subtle tug on his arm directed him to something he was not expecting to see at all. Hermione Granger, her bushy hair waving wildly, was sprinting right at him. Subtly he slipped his wand into his hand and felt Daphne do the same. Soon Granger stopped in front of him, bent over with her hands on her knees, gasping. Despite himself Harry couldn't help but be a little concerned.

"Harry," Hermione gasped, "I need to talk to you."

"Granger," he said coldly, old feelings welling up inside of him. He so wasn't in the mood for this. Not at all. "What on earth are you doing here, at the _member's only_ entrance?" His tone drew some looks from the crowd around him and he felt Daphne guide him slightly further away from them. Meanwhile Susan and Neville noticed his company and flanked him on either side.

"Being here is paramount to trespassing, Granger," Susan said coldly. "I suggest you remove yourself before the aurors get here to do it."

"Wouldn't want you to get in trouble with your precious authority," Neville added snidely.

"I deserve that, I really do," Hermione said, "but-"

"But nothing," Daphne snarled, lowering her voice to a whisper when she noticed the looks sent her way. "You abandoned him, just like everybody else did, and let your stupid prejudices run your decisions. You almost gave my sister over to a madman, refused to see what was in front of your face, and now are just waltzing in here, demanding we speak to you?" A chime went off behind them signaling the two minute warning to those waiting at the doors.

"Daph," Harry said quietly. "We don't have time for this."

"Right," she responded. Turning, she signaled to a passing auror to come closer. "This girl is neither welcome nor needed here. See that she ends up where she belongs."

"Perhaps a trash chute," Susan added, her Hufflepuff sense of loyalty offended.

"Yes ma'am," the auror said, snapping a salute before grabbing Hermione by the arm and forcibly dragging her away. Behind him the members began to enter the court room and he turned to join them.

"Harry, wait," she cried desperately, "it's important!" He ignored her and continued in. "It's about Dumbledore," she shouted, panicking now.

"We're well aware of your opinion of him," Daphne said coldly.

"No, you don't understand. I've been researching him, digging up all his dirt. I was wrong, Harry!" He stopped at that and turned to her, showing he was listening. "I was wrong! I should never have sided with Dumbledore, should have stood by you just like you stood by me. I don't expect you to forgive me, hell, I can't even forgive myself. But _please_ , you need to hear this! He kept something from you, from all of us. Something you need to hear!"

Harry was faced with a hard decision just then. Hermione had hurt him, and hurt him badly. He wanted nothing to do with her again. But at the same time he remembered her laughing with him after a snowball fight, or her annoyed smile when he asked for homework help. She'd been his friend for five years. She'd broken his trust, yes, but she'd also done a lot to gain it. He thought she at least deserved a chance here, even if Daphne would say he was just being a sentimental Gryffindor.

Making his decision, he turned and stepped fully inside the Wizengamot chamber.

-line break-

As Harry turned his back on her once more Hermione finally gave into the tears and broke down. It was her fault that Harry didn't trust her, and her fault that he wouldn't listen to her now. It was all her fault that he wouldn't get the information she'd gathered, and her fault that it could see him killed. All her fault. With a defeated sob she turned and went quietly with the auror to the elevators. As the ding sounded and the doors opened, she felt something inside her break.

"Wait, hold on a second!" And then it was whole again as a familiar voice rang out behind her. Turning in painful hope, she began to sob anew as she saw Harry running down the hall towards her, his girlfriend loyally by his side but looking confused. The auror stepped back out into the hall, dragging Hermione along with him. "Give us a second," he told the auror, who nodded and released her arm. Noticing the crowd he looked at her, his face blank, then mentioned for her to follow him.

Ahead of her Harry and Daphne were having a murmured discussion but Hermione didn't care. He'd given her a chance and just maybe she could make things right this time.

They led her to a small office reserved for Wizengamot members that was stocked with a small sofa and two armchairs positioned around a fireplace. A desk stood in the corner by the door. Gesturing for her to have a seat, Harry instructed the auror to guard the door from outside and then shut the door, casting a multitude of privacy charms, most of which Hermione didn't recognize. Then he sat down on the sofa, pulling his girlfriend down next to him and looking at her expectantly.

"I hope what you have to say is important," he began coldly, "because I don't like making an ass of myself by walking into a meeting five minutes late."

"It is," she said, wiping her eyes and trying to pull herself together.

"This is a bad time for an apology, Granger," Daphne said sternly, her ice mask solidly in place.

"I didn't come to offer one," she responded.

Daphne paused in her retort, obviously trying to decide whether or not she'd been insulted. Looking over her fiancé's ex-best friend, she decided that it wasn't her decision to make and looked over at Harry, who seemed to be going through the same internal struggle.

"Alright then," he said after a minute of contemplative silence, "what's so important that you charged through the ministry to get to me?"

"This." She pulled a stack of parchment out of her shoulder bag and slapped them down on the table in front of her.

Harry took one look at the papers and baulked. "Umm, why don't you just give us a general overview?"

Forcing down the giggle that threatened to bubble up at Harry's continued aversion to paperwork, Hermione nodded and began to separate the large stack into smaller piles.

"As I said before, after I'd realized that I'd made the wrong decision and realized what it had cost me, I started looking into Dumbledore and all his dirty little secrets. I know that most of the blame for my decision lays with me, but he has his fingers in the pie as well and I'd be damned if I let him get away with what he did. I started going through the papers you'd given me before, about the wards and the finances. This stack here," she indicated a stack of parchments to Harry's far left, "is simply a continuation of that line of enquiry. I'm sure you had the goblins investigate and thus know most of this information." She then moved on to the next stack. "This middle stack here is all about his manipulations in other's lives, including mine, the Weasley's, Sirius's, and even Tom Riddle's. This final stack, though, is why I'm here." She motioned to Harry's right where most of the parchments had ended up.

"I'm not sure how they got there, but I found these in the library one day hidden behind an old tome on potato farming. It contains a summation of Dumbledore's history, from childhood to when he was arrested. Most of the stuff isn't important right now, but the big thing was that the parchments detail his dealings with Grindlewald."

"So do most history books," Daphne said with an eye roll. She was failing to see the point and growing tired of an unneeded history lesson.

Hermione seemed to know what she was thinking and smiled grimly at her. "Not like this." Her grim tone captured both teens attention and Hermione found herself facing two serious sets of eyes. "Dumbledore and Grindlewald didn't start as enemies. In fact, they were once lovers. Together they envisioned a better world, one where Dumbledore's sister, Arianna, would never have been attacked by muggles and where she never would have refused her magic."

Daphne's eyes widened at the implications. Refusing your magic was suicide. If you didn't let it out on purpose then it would slowly build up and leak out, often at times of great emotion. Over time the buildup of magic would cause the body to implode. It was an extremely slow and painful way to die, and dangerous to others as well.

Hermione nodded sadly. "She was only six at the time. It tore the Dumbledore family apart. Dumbledore was determined that that should never happen again, and Grindlewald added fuel to the fire. It wasn't until Arianna was killed by a stray curse that Dumbledore began to question the extremes Grindlewald was willing to go to, but by then it was too late and a new dark lord had risen. History books tell us that Dumbledore went on to gather the light forces and defeat Grindlewald in a glorious duel, becoming the leader of the light we all know, or at least thought we knew. But these papers say differently. Yes Dumbledore did question Grindlewald, but not for the right reasons. Grindlewald wanted to annihilate wizards who weren't of "pure blood" whereas Dumbledore wanted to focus on the muggles and create punishments for them that punished an attack by muggles on wizards.

They split over how to achieve their goals, not on moral grounds. But somehow word got around that Dumbledore and Grindlewald had argued and split, and rumor spread until it was believed that Dumbledore had opposed the "dark" ideologies of the new dark lord and was preparing to take him down. "Light" wizards and witches flocked to support him and Dumbledore decided that he would use his new position to achieve his goals rather than his old one. He went on to face off with Grindlewald in public, but the curse he hit him with wasn't a killer, it was a modified stunner. Grindlewald fell to the ground and everyone just assumed he was dead. Dumbledore couldn't bring himself to kill the man he once loved so instead locked him away in a German Mountain prison under a false name.

Over time Dumbledore's ideologies changed and his definitions of "light" and "dark" grew warped until he became what he is today. Now I'm sure you're wondering why this is important to you, but take a look at this." She handed Harry the topmost parchment, which was a ministry portkey request under the name Aberforth Dumbledore. The departure date was for two days ago, and the destination was listed as _Germany_.

"Dumbledore wants his power back more than anything, right," Hermione asked them?

Both teens nodded, still stunned from the information they received.

"What better way to do that by bringing back a dark lord that he himself had previously defeated?"

The shoe dropped as the importance of this information came to light. "He's planning on loosing another dark lord as a bargaining piece to get his magic back," Harry said in understanding.

Daphne nodded in agreement. "What's more, it would probably work, at least partially. We definitely wouldn't give him his magic back, but Dumbledore best knew Grindlewald's methods. We'd be forced to seek him out and beg for information, which would put him back into a position he could use to his advantage, and our disadvantage. What's more, without his magic he has nothing left to lose. We'd be totally screwed."

Hermione nodded and then smirked. "You would be, except for one thing. I've been researching this stuff for months and by this point I know Grindlewald like the back of my hand. These parchments detail both his and Dumbledore's main methods of fighting. I would have got them to you sooner only I didn't realize what was going on until I saw that portkey request last night. I have no idea where your rooms are or if you'd see me so my best chance was to find you here." She sat back, having said all that she came here to say.

For a moment there was silence and the young couple digested the news, and then Harry was suddenly on his feet. "Right, you two stay here. We need backup on this, a lot of it. I'll go grab some and be right back." Without another word he swept from the room, the door slamming behind him.

For a while Hermione and Daphne just stared at each other, neither backing down, before Hermione finally gave up and looked down at her shoes, her face sad. "I meant what I said before, you know. I was wrong, and I know that now. And I know that it was unforgiveable. But he's still my best friend in my mind, and I really want what we had back. I know it won't be that easy, but I'm willing to try to make it up to him, if I can."

Daphne nodded at her. "At this point, that's all you really can do. But for what it's worth, I think this is a pretty good start."

-line break-

Because the bench for the twelve was a focal point of the room, it didn't go unnoticed when Harry entered the Wizengamot chambers ten minutes late. Even odder still was that when he did he didn't take his seat but instead bent down to whisper something to the nearby Lord Longbottom, who then turned to Lady Bones, who then turned to whisper to Lord Greengrass. Cyrus nodded and stood, gathering the attention of those few who had remained oblivious to what was going on.

"Do you wish to address the chamber, Lord Greengrass?" Amos Diggory, Chief Warlock, looked to Cyrus expectantly.

"Actually, a rather urgent matter has suddenly come up. Would it be possible to reconvene in thirty minutes time?"

A surprised Diggory looked around for objections, and finding none called for a thirty minute break. While most members of the Wizengamot stayed seated and used the time to chat, the members of the twelve promptly left, quickly followed by the Minister.

The group quickly arrived at Harry's private office and crammed inside, looking curiously over the room's occupants. Susan, at Harry's instruction, ran to the floo and called for Ragnok to step through. A harried Harry arrived just as Ragnok stepped out of the fireplace. Nodding to the goblin, he locked the door behind him and then stood to address the group.

"I've recently been informed of a plot by Dumbledore to get his magic back. In short, he plans to free Grindlewald from a German prison and then use his history in that subject to convince the courts that he's the best one to deal with the threat."

"But isn't Grindlewald dead," asked Susan?

"Apparently not." Harry gestured for Hermione to pass the evidence over to Amelia, who began scanning the articles quickly. After a few minutes she looked up at him with a frown.

"This all looks legit, and if true could cause a serious problem. We're making great headway against Voldemort now, but throwing another dark lord in the mix could serious threaten the status quo and set us back quite a bit."

"I know. And that's exactly why we need to take Voldemort out. Now." Silence met Harry's statement as the group struggled to understand the implications of what he'd just said.

Susan was the first to gain her bearings. "That actually makes a lot of sense. Over the past few weeks we've taken out a majority of his forces and his financial backing. At this point he's at his weakest. Striking now would have the best chance of success."

"But do we even know where he is? Or how many death eaters are left? I'm not arguing against your idea, but we can't go in blind," Amelia stated firmly.

"Well Snape estimated that our first attack took out a third of his forces, and we've since killed or captured that amount again with the ministry and vigilante attacks," Daphne stated. Hermione's eyes widened in comprehension next to her as she realized who exactly the vigilantes were. Wisely she kept her mouth shut as she processed that information. "I'd say by now he only had a few wizards left. That just leaves us with the creatures to take care of."

"After Snape informed us of the creature's interests we goblins began to send out feelers to nearby communities," Ragnok began. "Some were receptive to our cause and agreed to pull their backing of Riddle out. A few even agreed to join our side. They had heard of our third party from the wizards but didn't trust them enough to approach us. A word from a goblin, however, had them running for their weapons." He gave a feral grin at the wizards before continuing. "For those we couldn't persuade we at least managed to get some numbers down. He pulled a parchment from his pocket and began to read it aloud.

"As of today, the Trolls have agreed to remain neutral in exchange for a years' supply of food. They really are simple creatures. One of the two giant clans has agreed to switch sides and fight their cousins for us. They hope to be rewarded with land upon victory. I've already begun purchasing some with the confiscated DE moneys. The werewolves remain lost to us, but you've already taken out at least half of those that supported Voldemort. We estimate he has about twelve to fifteen left. All of the dementors remain firmly entrenched in the dark one's forces. There are approximately two hundred thirty six present left alive today. All of them can be counted on to work against us. The rumors about the nundu have proven false, so there's one less thing to worry about. Finally, the amount of vampires supporting him were grossly exaggerated. Current counts put the number at only a dozen or so."

"So in total he's got fifteen werewolves, one clan of giants which our own clan will take care of, two hundred and thirty odd dementors, and twelve vampires," Harry summarized. "Sounds like the main problem will be the dementors. With that many around it'll be difficult to summon enough patroni to keep them at bay."

Seeing her chance, Hermione raised her hand excitedly. Harry looked at her amusedly. "No need to raise your hand Hermione, you're not in class. Just spit out whatever you've got to say."

Looking slightly embarrassed she cleared her throat and began. "Yes, well, I did some research into dementors after our third year. The only charm available to deal with them is the patronus charm, but I couldn't find anything about but actually hitting them might do."

"Hitting them," Amelia asked, looking bewildered.

"Yes, like with a cutting curse or even a fist."

Amelia looked at her like she'd grown an extra head. "I…don't think anyone has ever tried that. Once they get close enough a wizard can't usually function, let alone get off a cutter. Besides, I have no idea if it would do anything at all."

"Well, there's no reason why it shouldn't. I mean, there is a physical being inside the cloak, isn't there," Hermione asked?

"Well, yes, I suppose so…"

"Well then there's something to hit. Presumably enough damage would kill the creature, whatever it is. You could even use spells intended for larger targets, like fiendfyre, to take out multiple beings at once," Hermione said practically.

Everyone stared at her for a moment, mouths open, before pulling themselves together.

"Right," Harry said, taking charge. "Hermione, you're in charge of research. Find a long distance damage spell or whatever else you think may work on the dementors. Perhaps a patronus can be altered? Ragnok, we need you to find out where snake face is hiding out. I'll get Remus and the twins on supply duty, stocking up weapons and potions. Susan, you'd best help out with that or who knows what we'll end up with. Daphne, I need research on what we're up against. Werewolves I've dealt with, but what can we expect from vampires? Cyrus and Amelia, keep your ears open about anything to do with Dumbledore or Germany. If you can, start sending out feelers to their government. They were hip deep in this last time and may prove useful. Nev, you and I are on planning mode. The best way to attack what Voldie's got left is with an ambush. As soon as we know where that is you and I are gonna scout the place out and rig it up real nice. Report back to me at any time through Dobby, he knows to answer your calls. Right, am I missing anything?"

"There's still a Wizengamot meeting to attend," Daphne said amusedly.

Immediately Harry deflated. "Damn."


End file.
